Equipment Financing for the Companies Your Family Office Backs
Direct equipment lending for portfolio companies across healthcare, manufacturing, food systems, and energy.
We are a direct equipment lender that serves the operating companies in your portfolio and your direct investment ventures. When a portfolio company needs equipment capital, we structure financing around the asset itself, preserving your existing credit relationships and keeping deal momentum aligned with your operational timelines.
Our financing capacity reaches $250M per project. Most transactions fund within 2 to 3 weeks, with same-day credit decisions when borrowers are prepared.
The CAPEX Problem Embedded in Every Capital-Intensive Portfolio
Equipment requirements are recurring. The pressure they create on IRR and borrowing capacity is structural.
Portfolio companies in healthcare, manufacturing, food systems, and energy share a common constraint. The equipment they need to grow, modernize, or meet new orders requires significant upfront capital expenditure.
For family offices, that CAPEX creates compounding pressure across the portfolio:
- Compresses IRR on capital-intensive investments
- Consumes borrowing capacity that should be reserved for working capital and acquisitions
- Reduces portfolio flexibility needed to move on the next opportunity
Traditional approaches compound the problem:
- Equity deployment into equipment purchases is dilutive and reduces capital available for higher-return uses.
- Debt financing through the senior credit facility ties up capacity banks reserve for working capital lines and strategic credit needs.
- Neither approach is structured for the recurring equipment CAPEX financing that portfolio companies in capital-intensive sectors require.
That is precisely the gap EQL’s family office equipment financing program addresses:
- We finance the equipment. The portfolio company services a structured lease.
- As a bank-complementary direct lender, we provide non-dilutive equipment financing
- The structural separation between equipment financing and your senior credit facility is deliberate, and consequential.
We Finance Your Portfolio Companies, Not Your Capital
The structural separation between equipment financing and your senior credit facility is the point.
When a portfolio company faces a large equipment CAPEX requirement, EQL steps in as a bank-complementary direct lender serving the borrower, not the family office.
Here is what that structure means in practice:
- We take a first lien on the equipment only
- We place no lien on the portfolio company's receivables, real property, or other business assets
- We do not touch the company's enterprise borrowing capacity
- Your senior credit facility stays intact
- Your bank relationship stays intact
- EQL fills the CAPEX gap
- Working capital lines
- Acquisition financing
- Strategic credit facilities
The result is non-dilutive equipment financing that serves the portfolio company’s operational needs without drawing on the family office’s capital or disrupting the credit relationships already in place. For family offices managing multiple capital-intensive holdings, that separation compounds in value across the portfolio.
Structure Options Designed for Capital Strategy
Not every portfolio company has the same tax position, balance sheet structure, or equipment ownership objective. EQL offers four financing structures to match each scenario.
Dollar-Out Capital Lease
A dollar-out capital lease is structured for portfolio companies that intend to own the equipment long-term. Monthly payments are higher than an operating lease, reflecting full amortization of the asset. At lease end, the portfolio company acquires the equipment outright for a nominal $1.00.
This structure is well suited when:
- The asset has a long productive life relative to the lease term
- The portfolio company's balance sheet supports carrying the asset as owned equipment
- Long-term retention of the asset is part of the operational strategy
Consult your CPA or tax advisor to evaluate whether a dollar-out capital lease structure aligns with your depreciation schedule and Section 179 deduction strategy.
FMV Operating Lease
An FMV operating lease is structured for portfolio companies managing bank covenants, exposure limits, or balance sheet presentation. Monthly payments are lower than a capital lease. At lease end, the portfolio company has the option to purchase the equipment at fair market value, return it, or renew.
This OPEX-style structure provides:
- Lower monthly payment obligations relative to a capital lease
- The ability to keep equipment off the balance sheet, preserving reported covenant ratios
- Flexibility to upgrade or exit the asset at lease end without a disposition burden
This structure is particularly valuable for family office equipment leasing scenarios where the portfolio company is managing existing bank exposure or anticipates a credit facility review during the lease term.
Consult your CPA or tax advisor regarding operating lease treatment under current accounting standards before selecting this structure.
Sale-Leaseback
A sale-leaseback converts equity tied up in equipment your portfolio company already owns into working capital, without interrupting operations. EQL purchases the equipment at fair market value and leases it back to the portfolio company on terms it can service. The company retains full use of the asset throughout the lease term.
This structure is well suited for equipment sale-leaseback for family office investments where:
- A portfolio company owns productive equipment outright and needs to unlock that equity.
- Working capital is needed for growth, acquisition activity, or covenant relief.
- Selling the asset outright is not operationally viable.
The result is immediate capital release with no disruption to production, operations, or existing customer commitments.
Progress Funding
Progress funding is designed for portfolio companies commissioning large equipment builds that require capital before the equipment is operational. EQL covers deposit and milestone payments directly to vendors as the build advances such as pharmaceutical manufacturing lines, energy infrastructure installations, food processing facility builds, and other multi-phase projects.
This structure eliminates a critical constraint:
- The portfolio company does not need to front large amounts of capital before the equipment generates revenue.
- Vendor payments are managed by EQL directly, removing deposit risk from the portfolio company's balance sheet.
- Financing is structured around the build timeline, not a single funding event.
Progress funding is a structure that banks typically cannot provide. For family offices backing companies with large, staged equipment builds, it is often the difference between maintaining deal momentum and waiting months for internal capital to accumulate
Sector Expertise Across Your Portfolio's Core Verticals
Family offices frequently hold concentrated positions in capital-intensive sectors. EQL has transactional experience across the verticals where equipment CAPEX is highest and most strategic.
Healthcare and Diagnostic Imaging
Portfolio companies in healthcare require equipment that is directly tied to revenue generation and clinical capacity. MRI systems, CT scanners, diagnostic lab automation, and surgical suite equipment represent large, recurring CAPEX events with asset lives that do not always align with internal cash flow cycles.
EQL structures lease terms around the asset life of medical equipment and the reimbursement environment in which the portfolio company operates. This means payment structures that reflect how the equipment generates revenue, not generic amortization schedules applied to any asset class.
Equipment financed in this vertical includes:
- MRI and CT imaging systems
- Diagnostic lab automation
- Surgical suites and specialty procedure equipment
- Outpatient and ASC facility builds
Manufacturing and Pharmaceuticals
Manufacturing and pharmaceutical portfolio companies represent some of the largest single-asset equipment requirements EQL finances. Production lines, CNC systems, and pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment often involve multi-vendor builds, staged installation timelines, and vendors located outside the United States.
EQL has financed projects up to $100M+ in this sector, including multi-vendor builds requiring deposit management for vendors in Europe and Asia. For family offices backing domestic manufacturing expansion or pharmaceutical reshoring initiatives, EQL’s progress funding capability and international deposit management remove the two constraints that most lenders cannot address.
Equipment financed in this vertical includes:
- Production lines and CNC machining systems
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and syringe lines
- Multi-vendor builds with international component sourcing
- Automated assembly and quality control systems
Food Processing and Packaging
Food processing and packaging portfolio companies face a recurring reinvestment cycle driven by new order volumes, compliance demands, and modernization requirements. Automation and inspection lines, cold-chain assets, and packaging systems must be upgraded continuously to remain competitive and meet customer specifications.
EQL structures leases around production volume and reinvestment cycles, matching payment obligations to the revenue ramp that new equipment enables rather than requiring full amortization before the asset is generating at full capacity.
Equipment financed in this vertical includes:
- Production and packaging lines
- Automation and inspection systems
- Cold-chain and logistics equipment
- Sustainable manufacturing upgrades
Renewable Energy and Infrastructure
Renewable energy and infrastructure portfolio companies operate on long-term energy contracts with predictable recurring revenue. Solar, wind, battery energy storage systems, and power generation equipment represent large upfront capital requirements that are well-suited to lease structures matched to energy contract timelines.
EQL understands the recurring revenue models that underpin renewable energy assets and structures leases that align with project cash flows rather than requiring capital deployment before the asset is generating contracted revenue.
For family offices that have used sale-leaseback structures to unlock equity in operating BESS or generation assets, EQL has direct transactional experience in this structure across the energy vertical.
Equipment financed in this vertical includes:
- Solar and wind generation equipment
- Battery energy storage systems (BESS)
- Microgrid and power generation infrastructure
- Power distribution and grid-tie systems
Construction and Industrial
Construction and industrial portfolio companies frequently hold significant equity in productive equipment that is not being used as working capital. Heavy equipment, material handling systems, and fleet assets can be converted into liquidity through sale-leaseback arrangements without interrupting operations or surrendering the asset.
EQL supports construction and industrial portfolio companies through both direct equipment financing and sale-leaseback structures that unlock equity in owned equipment for redeployment into acquisitions, working capital, or new fleet additions.
Equipment financed in this vertical includes:
- Heavy construction equipment and yellow iron
- Material handling systems and fleet assets
- Equipment subject to sale-leaseback for equity release
- New acquisitions financed at 100% with equipment-only collateral
Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure
Data center portfolio companies face a structural tension: revenue is recurring and growing, but equipment refresh cycles require significant upfront CAPEX every 3 to 5 years to remain competitive. Power distribution systems, cooling infrastructure, UPS, and server rack buildouts represent large, concentrated capital events that benefit directly from lease structures aligned with asset lifecycle and revenue ramp.
EQL finances data center infrastructure buildouts and refresh cycles through operating lease structures that spread equipment costs over the asset’s productive life, enabling family office-backed data center operators to upgrade on competitive timelines without deploying equity into rapidly depreciating infrastructure.
Equipment financed in this vertical includes:
- Power distribution and UPS systems
- Cooling, HVAC, and generator infrastructure
- Networking and server rack buildouts
- AI and cloud workload capacity upgrades
Sector fluency means EQL structures financing that fits how a specific asset generates revenue, not generic lease terms applied to any equipment type.
For family offices with portfolio companies across multiple capital-intensive verticals, that fluency translates directly into faster deal execution, better-structured payment obligations, and financing that supports the operational timeline of each portfolio company.
Results Across Asset-Heavy Sectors
Medical Imaging Upgrade
Sector: Healthcare and Diagnostic Imaging
Scenario: A portfolio company in diagnostic imaging faced a significant capital equipment requirement, specifically an MRI system upgrade. Deploying equity or using internal cash reserves would have reduced the company’s working capital flexibility and delayed the upgrade timeline.
Solution: EQL structured a 5-year operating lease, enabling the portfolio company to install the upgraded MRI suite without an upfront equity outlay or cash deployment.
Outcomes:
- The portfolio company preserved working capital for other growth initiatives rather than deploying it into a single capital equipment purchase.
- The upgrade was accelerated by enabling the lease structure rather than waiting for internal cash accumulation or traditional debt approval.
- The OPEX-style payment stream replaced a large upfront CAPEX event, improving the company's reported financials and covenant position.
Details: $2.4M MRI upgrade. Financed in under 30 days.
Renewable Energy Storage Deployment
Outcomes:
- Grid deployment was accelerated by 8 months, enabling earlier project revenue generation.
- The portfolio company preserved capital for operational priorities rather than locking it into the BESS asset.
- Lease payments were structured to align with project cash flows rather than requiring large upfront debt or equity commitments.
Details: $5M BESS financed via sale-leaseback. Grid deployment accelerated by 8 months.
Food Manufacturing Automation Upgrade
Solution: EQL structured a 5-year operating lease for the $3M automation line, enabling the portfolio company to upgrade immediately and match equipment costs to the production revenue ramp.
Outcomes:
- Grid deployment was accelerated by 8 months, enabling earlier project revenue generation.
- The portfolio company preserved capital for operational priorities rather than locking it into the BESS asset.
- Lease payments were structured to align with project cash flows rather than requiring large upfront debt or equity commitments.
Data Center Infrastructure Refresh
Outcomes:
- The infrastructure refresh was completed quickly, enabling the portfolio company to capture higher-margin AI and cloud workloads sooner.
- The portfolio company maintained liquidity for ongoing operations and future capital needs rather than exhausting capital in a single infrastructure cycle.
- The operating lease structure enabled technology refresh cycles every 3 to 5 years without requiring a full equity deployment at each refresh interval.
Direct Lender with the Capacity and Discretion Your Office Requires
We underwrite and fund our own deals. Same-day credit decisions. No bank committee. No third-party approval chain.
When you refer a portfolio company to EQL, you reach the decision-maker directly. We use our own capital. Our credit committee consists of the senior team led by President Traci Dolphin; the same people who structure the deal approve it. Speed and accountability are built into the model, not added on top of it.
For family office referrals from $5M to $100M and above, that means:
- Same-day credit decisions when borrowers are prepared
- Approval-to-funding in 2 to 3 weeks for most transactions
- Financing capacity up to $250M per project
- NDAs available at the outset of any engagement
- Direct engagement with your deal team or the portfolio company's finance leadership, your choice
When a transaction requires capacity beyond our direct balance sheet, our syndication network steps in:
- Private equity partners
- Family offices
- Institutional investors
- Banks and credit unions
We coordinate the syndication process. Your portfolio company works with one point of contact throughout.
For family offices with recurring equipment needs across multiple portfolio companies, we build a structured referral workflow around your portfolio with consistent process, consistent execution, no reinvention with each deal.
Over 40% of our clients come back for additional financing. That is what consistent execution looks like. We treat every referral as the start of a long-term relationship, not a line item.
Bank-Complementary by Design
When a bankable portfolio company hits an equipment financing wall, the problem is rarely credit quality. The constraint is structural:
- Exposure caps that prevent the bank from lending more to a single borrower
- Covenant restrictions that limit additional debt on the senior facility
- Internal risk appetite limits on specific equipment asset classes
- Collateral requirements that would encumber receivables or real property
Bank-complementary equipment financing resolves each of these constraints without touching the banking relationship:
Equipment-only collateral
First lien on the equipment. No lien on receivables, real property, or any other business asset.
No draw on enterprise borrowing capacity
Our financing does not touch the working capital line or strategic credit facilities the bank holds.
Covenant-friendly structures
FMV operating leases address covenant constraints without requiring a credit facility amendment or a conversation with the bank's credit committee.
Direct lender coordination
We work alongside existing lenders when the deal requires it such as navigating CMBS, life company, debt fund, bridge, and SBA 504 environments with the portfolio company's banking team.
How to Refer a Portfolio Company to EQL
The family office lender referral program is designed to be fast, low-friction, and discreet. Share the basics. We handle the rest.
Complete the Lender Referral Quote Request Form
Provide the portfolio company name, equipment type, and funding requirement. Basic details only, no extensive documentation required at this stage.
A specialist contacts you within 15 minutes of submission.
You reach our team directly. Not a queue. Not an automated response.The portfolio company completes a 7-minute online application
Initial intake is handled digitally. For standard transactions, our team prepares a Letter of Intent within 24 to 48 hours of receiving a completed application.Multi-million-dollar transactions receive a credit decision within 2 to 3 weeks
Our credit committee works through your deal team or directly with the portfolio company’s finance leadership, whichever keeps the process moving fastest.Final documentation goes out. Funds wire within 24 hours.
From signed docs to funded deal, the final step moves in a single business day.Ready to Refer a Portfolio Company?
EQL finances the equipment. Your portfolio company services a structured lease. Your bank relationship stays intact. If you have a portfolio company with an equipment CAPEX requirement, the next step is straightforward.
A specialist contacts you within 15 minutes.