White Sails Inn

The White Sails Inn is what many would describe as the “quintessential Maine inn”. Located in Kennebunk, the bed and breakfast was previously known as the Elizabeth Rose House. Susanne Lillis purchased the inn in May of 2023. Susanne, who was born and raised in Sonderborg, Denmark, lived in Rangeley, Maine for 19 years. Having spent 25 years in the hospitality industry, she decided to fulfill her lifelong dream of owning her own establishment and purchased this picturesque inn. She was working with Franklin Savings Bank to secure funding for the purchase, and as things seemed to become complicated, was…

Northeast Coating Technologies

In 1994, Shawn Spencer was struggling to make his ground-breaking industrial coatings machine design into a viable business. All he lacked was the capital to purchase the necessary materials to build his equipment. “SMFA and Will were instrumental in getting the company off the ground. I don’t know if we would exist without them to be honest. We had exhausted other avenues,” says Shawn. He goes on to explain that what they do is very difficult to explain or understand for the lay person. “I would present my business plan to banks, and they would look at me with total…

New Harbor Cottages

It was Stacey Cote’s dream to own and operate a hospitality business in Southern Maine. When she found the property New Harbor Cottages for sale in Wells, she knew it was what she was looking for. She came to a Purchase Agreement with the owner, had some working capital, but needed financial help to purchase the property. Because the property needed some improvements, she was a new hospitality business, and Maine was just coming out of the pandemic, banks were very cautious. After being denied a loan from other banks, her Realtor connected her to SMFA. SMFA in turn brought…

SMFA Celebrates 30 Years

We are at an enormously exciting point in the history of the Southern Maine Finance Agency. Reaching our 30th year as an organization is clearly a significant milestone, and we have many achievements to be proud of. SMFA has succeeded in bringing focus and expertise to a narrow, niche market – providing gap financing to commercial enterprises. These businesses range from very small startups to established businesses seeking to grow and expand. We work with a variety of sources of funds, and a network of local banks. With these unique relationships, and many loan options to offer clients, we can…

Shaker Pond Ice Cream

Shaker Pond Ice Cream, owned by Ryan Whitten and David Swett, has been serving up delicious treats since 2008. What started as an ice cream stand in Alfred, Maine, has now grown to include a retail location in Sanford and a production facility in the same town. Their wholesale business began in 2011, and they continue to expand their offerings to this day. When asked about how they got started in the ice cream business, Ryan and David explain, "Both of us used to work at another ice cream company and decided to go at it on our own." They…

T & D Wood Energy

T&D Wood Energy, founded by Tony Wood and his father in 2018, manufactures premium wood pellets for the heating market in the Northeast. The company sells to all New England states, and in each of the three heating seasons, they have sold out of all their product and needed to make more. The owners had been working on developing a wood pellet plant for almost 11 years before they got close to building a facility. When the company was ready to close financing on its current plant, Coastal Enterprises brought Southern Maine Finance Agency (SMFA) into the relationship. "Working with…

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