Bed and Biscuit is a non-medical pet care service provider located in the countryside of Ithaca, New York. They specialize in personalized boarding and daycare for dogs and cats, and they provide retail products and light grooming services as well. The business was originally founded in 1998 and was later purchased by a Hungarian immigrant couple in 2002 who invested in and built the business as they worked towards their “American Dream”. Since then, Bed and Biscuit has established a solid reputation and loyal customer base.
Luke Sajer is the new owner of Bed and Biscuit of Ithaca. He began his career in the military as a member of a special operations unit. After leaving the military, he earned a degree in Applied Math with a focus in Computer Science from Harvard and relocated to New York City to work in the private equity industry to begin his career. During his years in corporate finance, he worked for an SBIC fund management entity focusing on lower-market American businesses, and it was through this role that Luke gained experience in business operations and realized that he wanted to own and operate his own business.
Luke was searching for a family-oriented and meaningful business to buy when he came across the owners of Bed and Biscuit of Ithaca who were looking to sell their business. He found the sprawling facility alluring, with its high-quality service offering and potential for future growth. Luke then decided to purchase the business and began looking into financing options. He knew that an SBA loan would be the best fit for him, as it would allow him to buy a business of this size and caliber while still retaining cash flow for future acquisitions. The broker for the deal, Matthias Smith from Pioneer Capital Advisory, connected Luke with Dennis Wagner, one of our experienced Business Development Officers, to provide SBA financing. Luke appreciated that FNB is a Preferred SBA Lender and that Dennis had a thorough understanding of the SBA process. Ultimately, Dennis was able to customize an SBA 7(a) loan that enabled Luke to acquire Bed and Biscuit of Ithaca, along with its commercial real estate. In the future, Luke looks forward to expanding the business by offering grooming and training services.
This is what Luke had to say about his experience partnering with Dennis and the team at FNB Small Business Finance.
I enjoyed my conversations with Dennis and FNB because of their action-oriented attitude. Dennis spoke the same language I did and educated me on their process, expectations, and what I needed to deliver. I really appreciated the combination of professionalism and patience from them, particularly on my first deal! I would definitely recommend Dennis and FNB to other business owners, and I plan to do more deals with them in the future.
Congratulations to Luke on his successful acquisition of Bed and Biscuit of Ithaca! We can't wait to see how he takes the business to new heights and expands to additional locations in the future.
