Highland Bank
At a Glance
The first call for a deal just past the 7(a) with under two million of EBITDA, because nobody else here publishes a floor that low.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Loan products; terms by term sheet. The page publishes the cash flow desk's revenue and EBITDA bands and, for the SBA desk, a 10% down payment and loans up to $5 to $9 million in certain situations (per highland.bank, September 2026).
- Best For
- A searcher whose company is too small for the sponsor desks that start at two or three million of EBITDA, and who wants a bank that names search funds on its own page
- Track Record
- A Minnesota Preferred Lender running a senior cash flow desk beside its 7(a), the one page here naming search funds.
- Type
- Bank (lends directly)
- Footprint
- A Twin Cities bank calling itself one of the top SBA lenders in Minnesota, with no lending area published past that. It publishes a region rather than a state list, so ask on the first call whether it lends where you are buying.
- The SBA hub says it works with local business owners in the Twin Cities community and counts itself among a handful of metro area banks holding the Preferred Lender designation. The acquisition page calls the bank one of the top SBA lenders in the state of Minnesota. No page names a lending area or a list of states.
- Approval Authority
- Says it holds SBA Preferred Lender status, so it can approve the loan itself rather than sending the file to the agency for a second look.
- Its SBA loans page says it is recognized as an SBA Preferred Lender and, under a Speed heading, that Preferred Lender status lets it approve SBA loan requests in-house; the 7(a) program page names the Preferred Lender Program in a benefits line.
- Deal Size
- $500k and up, past the single-loan 7(a) cap.
- Lends conventionally on this product, so no 7(a) cap applies.
- Publishes no floor. Most of this shelf gives a ceiling that is really the agency's own cap, and no minimum at all.
- The 7(a) program page gives the program's maximum, and the acquisition page says loan amounts up to nine million in certain situations; neither page nor the SBA hub states a smallest loan.
- Searcher Practice
- A general SBA lending desk, branch-driven.
- An SBA contact form and a contact-a-banker line, a how-to-apply page, and a hub that talks about the Twin Cities community; nothing says the process runs without a visit, so the flag follows the contact path.
- The acquisition page names search funds in a list of sponsors its senior cash flow desk partners with, beside private equity firms and independent sponsors. A partner named in a list is not a page named for a practice, so the flag stays off and the naming is on the review.
- Published Terms
- 7(a) with 10% down, loan amounts up to nine million in certain situations by its own page, and cash flow loans from $500,000 of EBITDA.
- Past the SBA Cap
- Senior Cash Flow Financing: EBITDA $500,000 to $5 million. The page states no loan or hold size.
- Who the Desk Says It Lends To
- Private equity firms, independent sponsors, family- or individually owned businesses and search funds.
- Not stated for the cash flow desk; the same page calls the bank one of the top SBA lenders in Minnesota.
- Roadmap Stages
- 5. Diligence & Close the Deal
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The lowest published EBITDA floor of any cash flow desk on this site, at $500,000
- Names search funds beside private equity firms and independent sponsors as the sponsors it lends to
- An SBA Preferred Lender on the same page, so a deal that fits the 7(a) and one that does not are one conversation
- Publishes the transaction types it finances, from platform buys to successions and ESOPs
Cons
- The page states no loan size for the cash flow desk and no geography for it, and the bank is a Minnesota institution
- No searcher-specific timelines or rates are published; the SBA desk's terms are the only terms on the page
What Searchers Say
The bank calls itself one of the top SBA lenders in Minnesota on the page itself. No searcher-forum discussion of its cash flow desk was found; the desk's own words are the signal.
How to Approach
Highland Bank is a bank, so this is how that kind of lender comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.
The Typical Arc
- A prequalification on you and the target, often from the first email.
- A full application and the bank's own underwrite of the deal.
- A term sheet, then closing on the SBA's timeline, commonly two to four months.
What It Weighs
- Whether the business's cash flow covers the debt with room to spare.
- Your experience relative to the business you are buying.
- Your equity injection and how clean the financials are.
How to Prepare
- Model the payment and coverage before you call. SBA Acquisition Calculator
- Underwrite the specific deal end to end. Underwrite a Deal
- Show where every dollar comes from and goes. Sources & Uses Builder