Cambridge Wilkinson — M&A Advisory Profile

Cambridge Wilkinson Research

Advisory Approach

Cambridge Wilkinson is a leading global investment bank founded on the belief that speed, connections, and confidence are essential to successfully executing complex financial transactions. The firm operates with a thesis-driven approach centered on three core values: SPEED (nimble approach to rapid deal execution), CONNECTIONS (broad network of capital sources built over decades), and CONFIDENCE (senior-level expertise with proven track record). Cambridge Wilkinson specializes in middle-market transactions, focusing on companies seeking $25 million to $5 billion in debt and equity capital, as well as strategic advisory support for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and recapitalizations.

The firm's competitive positioning emphasizes their ability to serve clients with institutional-quality expertise while maintaining the personal touch and responsiveness of a boutique advisory firm. Co-Founder and Global Head of Investment Banking Rob Bolandian and Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Howard Chernin have built a team of relationship-driven professionals with deep expertise across multiple capital markets and industries.

Sector and Service Focus

Cambridge Wilkinson maintains a deliberately broad industry focus, positioning itself as "industry agnostic" while maintaining deep expertise in specific vertical markets. The firm's service lines include:

Debt and Equity Capital Raises: Comprehensive transaction management from capital structure optimization through close, identifying appropriate capital sources and introducing strategic partnership relationships. The firm arranges financing from business lines of credit and unitranche facilities to receivables financing, asset-based lending, cash flow loans from non-bank capital providers, and equity capital from minority stakes through control positions to full buyouts.

M&A Advisory: Full financial advisory and M&A services for buy-side and sell-side transactions. Hundreds of business owners, investors, and management teams rely on Cambridge Wilkinson for execution on acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, and carve-out transactions.

Fund Finance: Specialized expertise in structuring custom fund finance facilities for private equity, private credit, and select hedge fund clients. Services include NAV (Net Asset Value) leverage facilities, non-dilutive GP (General Partner) financings at the management company level, and SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) leverage. Fund finance facilities range from $25 million to $1 billion per facility.

Specialty Finance Focus: Dedicated team serving asset-based lenders, factors, purchase order finance companies, equipment lessors, trade finance providers, bridge lenders, consumer finance companies, fintech companies, and all other specialty finance firms. Specialization in helping these firms increase lending power, complete acquisitions, and capitalize on growth opportunities.

Real Estate Investment Banking: Strong track record executing capital market mandates for real estate transactions. Coverage includes office, storage, hotel and hospitality, retail properties and shopping centers, multifamily properties, mobile home parks, workforce housing, industrial and manufacturing properties, and general real estate development projects. The firm works nationally and is geography and property-type agnostic.

Industry Expertise and Verticals

While Cambridge Wilkinson maintains broad industry coverage, the firm has developed particular depth in:

Specialty Finance: The firm has become known as a leading adviser to specialty finance platforms, providing capital raising and advisory services to asset-based lenders, factors, equipment lessors, receivables financing platforms, litigation finance lenders, and other non-bank financial services providers. This vertical has been a primary focus area for the past several years.

Real Estate and Real Estate Finance: Extensive experience with real estate developers, platforms, and specialized real estate lending vehicles including bridge lenders, HELOC mortgage originators, and programmatic JV equity facilities.

Consumer Finance: Deep relationships in the consumer lending space, including consumer installment lending platforms and home improvement loan portfolios. Recent transactions include advising on $80 million+ consumer loan portfolio sales and structuring forward flow agreements for consumer lending platforms.

Technology: Deliberately built technology practice over the past year, bringing relationship-driven approaches and structured capital expertise to growth-stage technology companies. The technology team brings decades of experience as both operators and investors. Focus includes Series B and later-stage companies with strong growth trajectories, as well as mature companies seeking non-dilutive capital. The firm facilitates both single-investor transactions and syndicated raises.

Other Industries: The firm also maintains active advisory practices in healthcare, sports and entertainment, infrastructure, and transportation sectors, leveraging relationships across these industries.

Deal Track Record and Recent Activity

Cambridge Wilkinson has closed numerous significant transactions across its service lines:

Capital Raises and Structured Finance: The firm has closed multiple major capital raises and structured finance transactions:

Syndicated SPV investment in an AI hardware and technology company Series B funding round (February 2026)
$240 million forward flow loan agreement for a consumer installment lending platform (September 2025)
$80 million+ consumer loan portfolio sale (August 2025)
$215 million senior lender finance credit facility for a specialized lending platform (2025)
$100 million forward flow agreement for a real estate lending platform (March 2025)
£50 million JV-programmatic co-investment vehicle for a private commercial real estate bridge lender (2025)
$50 million senior secured revolving credit facility for a specialty finance platform (January 2026 / February 2025)
$25 million fund leverage facility for a credit fund client (2025)
Multiple specialty finance capital raise transactions closed in October 2024

Geographic Coverage and Scale: Cambridge Wilkinson operates globally with presence across North America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. The firm's headquarters is located in New York (228 Park Avenue South, Suite 855, New York, NY 10003), with additional offices supporting European, Middle Eastern, and Asian operations. The firm has approximately 40-50 professionals across multiple continents.

Fee Structure and Engagement Model

Cambridge Wilkinson structures engagements to be highly customized to client needs. The firm emphasizes "speed to market" and operates on the principle that every day counts when capital is needed or strategic opportunities arise. The firm has demonstrated ability to execute complex structured financings and capital raises rapidly, suggesting flexible engagement models tailored to each transaction's unique circumstances.

For capital raises, the firm likely operates on transaction-based fees with potential retainers for comprehensive advisory engagements. The firm's emphasis on long-term relationships and repeat business suggests a fee structure that aligns incentives with successful capital sourcing and transaction execution.

Buyer Network and Capital Sources

Cambridge Wilkinson has built an extensive network of capital sources built over decades of successful transactions, including:

Family offices (single-family and multi-family)
Institutional investors and pension funds
Insurance companies
Private equity firms
Private credit funds
Non-bank lenders and alternative capital providers
Endowment funds
Strategic buyers and investors
Specialty finance investors
Real estate capital sources

The firm's transaction history demonstrates particular strength with:

PE-backed transactions (evident from multiple fund finance and growth capital transactions)
Strategic buyer relationships (particularly in specialty finance, real estate, and technology verticals)
Alternative capital sources (strong relationships with non-bank lenders, family offices, and credit funds)

Competitive Positioning

Cambridge Wilkinson differentiates through:

Speed and Responsiveness: The firm positions itself as "nimble" with a focus on rapid execution. Unlike bulge bracket firms, Cambridge Wilkinson emphasizes speed to market as a core value proposition.
Industry Specialization: Particularly strong positioning in specialty finance, where the firm has developed a leading practice advising non-bank lenders and financial services platforms.
Institutional Quality with Boutique Service: The firm explicitly markets itself as offering "unparalleled services and expertise with the sophistication you would expect from bulge bracket firms while maintaining the personal touch of a boutique investment bank."
Relationship-Driven Approach: Emphasis on relationship capital and network-driven capital sourcing, combined with long-term client relationships.
Capital Markets Expertise: Proven expertise across complex capital structures including NAV facilities, GP financings, SPV leverage, and various non-traditional capital sources.
Cross-Border Capability: Global presence enabling both domestic and international transaction execution.

Process and Service Delivery

Cambridge Wilkinson's transaction process emphasizes comprehensive management at every stage:

Capital structure optimization and strategy
Capital source identification and introduction
Strategic partnership facilitation
Comprehensive transaction documentation and negotiation
Deal structuring and execution through close

For M&A advisory, the firm supports clients throughout the transaction process from evaluating and recommending financial and strategic alternatives to identifying the right partner and negotiating final transaction terms.

Team and Organization

The firm is led by Co-Founders Rob Bolandian (25+ years investment management experience across private equity, hedge funds, real estate, fixed income, and M&A) and Howard Chernin (20+ years experience with lower-middle-market and middle-market businesses, specialty finance). The leadership team brings diverse perspectives from investment banking, corporate finance, family office management, and building and owning specialty finance companies. Key team members include Todd Fasanella (Managing Director with 25+ years investment banking and asset finance experience focused on real estate and hospitality), Amanda Chernin (Senior Vice President), and an experienced team of investment bankers and financial professionals across the firm's 15+ global offices.

Market Position and Growth

Cambridge Wilkinson has grown deliberately over the past 5-10 years, expanding its capabilities and team. The firm deliberately built its technology practice over 2025-2026, bringing proven capital raising expertise to growth-stage companies. The firm's expansion of the data center and digital infrastructure capital raising team in early 2025 reflects its strategic focus on emerging verticals. In March 2024, Cambridge Wilkinson spun out BCB Equity Partners as an independent private equity firm led by distinguished Wall Street veteran David Barcus, with Co-Founders Bolandian and Chernin serving as co-chairmen, demonstrating the firm's reach into alternative asset management.

Regulatory Status

Cambridge Wilkinson itself is not a registered broker-dealer. Securities are offered through Finalis Securities LLC (FINRA Member, CRD# 305908), which is a separate, unaffiliated entity. This structure allows Cambridge Wilkinson to provide investment banking services while maintaining regulatory separation from brokerage operations.