The staff of MORE Business Systems, LLC is poised to assist small businesses across multiple industries in need of investment. After funding deals, MORE serves to incubate each business until there is a proven business formula with positive results. At that time, MORE can seek additional capital from outside sources to complete additional funding rounds for the incubated business to ensure their continued growth. MORE has considered or funded deals in the following industries:
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•Crisis Management/Software Development
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•Resort Construction & Management
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•Hardware Distribution
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•Golf Course Management
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•Real Estate Investment & Development
ROTI, LLC
ROTI, LLC (ROTI), an Alabama Limited Liability Company, was formed in December, 2007 in Baldwin County, Alabama, a Gulf Coast county with a rapid growth rate. Since its inception, ROTI has grown in excess of 100% per year by providing loans and leased assets to small businesses and individuals in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. ROTI strives to promote the social and economic development of individuals and small businesses through its lending, leasing, and other investment activities as a for-profit entity. ROTI’s lending activities to date have displayed this commitment to invest financial and human capital with start-up and small businesses that could not have obtained or would have had difficulty obtaining capital from traditional lending or investment institutions.
In addition to Baldwin County, Alabama, several of ROTI’s activities are located in and around Pensacola, FL, a place in which it is developing a lending history. While the overall county of Escambia and the city of Pensacola have somewhat favorable economies (though unemployment and underemployment are major issues throughout the region), there are many pockets within it that are economically depressed, lack opportunities for those living in or near them, and do not have the same access to credit given their size, location, and lack of social capital within the community.
Florida in general has experienced the credit crisis in a significant way, and Pensacola’s local population has felt the effects. Per the 2008 Pensacola Area Labor Availability Report, 103,000 of the 406,500 civilian workforce (approximately 25%) was unemployed or underemployed. According to the FDIC’s recent quarterly report, Florida has ten fewer banks than one year ago. There are two times the amount of past due and nonaccrual loans, and there is nearly four times the number of noncurrent loans. Florida’s smallest banks (<$100M in assets) loaned and leased less than three percent (3%) of the total in the state. Florida’s local banks are, understandably, more stringent in their underwriting procedures in general, and in particular with small and start-up businesses with little to no operating history, no previous banking relationship, few assets, low credit scores, and, perhaps, a business plan in need of mentorship and guidance. Further limiting the credit capacities of Pensacola banks in comparison to other Florida submarkets is the level of their deposits as evidenced by the fact that Pensacola’s banks are not on the FDIC’s Largest Deposit Markets List.
There are few sources for start-up companies within the Pensacola area in need of debt, equity, or equipment leasing. SBA lenders exist in this area but have too stringent of underwriting requirements for many of the potential applicants and cannot be as flexible as ROTI in their deal structures. Thus, ROTI is well-positioned for additional growth. MORE Business Systems, LLC (“MORE”) began its relationship with ROTI in 2008. Since that time, MORE has provided its client ROTI with financial capital and consulting services. As ROTI’s portfolio has grown, so too have the management duties. Consequently, MORE has provided asset management oversight and strategy consulting to ROTI while also providing ROTI with introductions to industry contacts in order to facilitate the sale or lease of ROTI’s assets.
