Austin Financial Services, Inc. (“Austin”) and Diamond Creek Capital, LLC (“DCC”) announced today their formation of a strategic alliance. The alliance of DCC, a special situations cash flow and enterprise value lender, and Austin, a privately funded asset based lender, will provide the market a single source financing solution for growth capital, acquisitions, recapitalizations and turnarounds. Together, DCC and Austin will address a void in the lower middle market by providing a cost-competitive, unitranche debt facility to smaller companies who historically have not had access to financing beyond traditional bank and asset-based lending facilities. DCC has formed Diamond Creek Management, LLC to act as the asset manager of both funds, overseeing the marketing, operations and portfolio management of the combined loan portfolio of ~$110 million. Headquartered in Orange County, CA, DCC will also take space in Austin’s office in Los Angeles, with the intention of growing the combined portfolio to over $250 million.

As part of the alliance, DCC is expanding its team with the addition of Benjamin Frank as a Partner of the firm. Frank has more than a decade of experience in the banking and commercial finance industry, with considerable strength in lending, underwriting, financial modeling, risk assessment and contract negotiations. Frank will hold the position of Chief Executive Officer at Austin and oversee its day-to-day operations, while sourcing opportunities for both Austin and DCC.