Florida First Capital 504 Loan Recipient Named SBA North Florida Small Business Person of the Year

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Florida First Capital Finance Corporation (FFCFC) is pleased to announce that Fernando Pereira, president of Pegasus Transportation in Orlando, has been named the Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) North Florida District.

Pegasus Transportation provides group motor coach transportation for any event or occasion in Florida. Mr. Pereira started Pegasus Transportation in 1994 with a 100 square-foot office, one 15-passenger van and one driver. Today, Pegasus has a fleet of late-model European motor coaches and two Florida offices--one in Orlando and one in Miami.

Florida First Capital is honored to have worked with Mr. Pereira and Pegasus Transportation to provide SBA 504 Loan Program financing for its growing operations. Mr. Pereira secured two 504 loans through Florida First Capital: one for the purchase of an existing 6,000 square-foot building on two acres of land and a second to construct an additional 5,400 square-feet of office and warehouse space.

The 504 Loan Program is an economic development program that supports small businesses through expansion and job creation. The program provides long-term, fixed-rate subordinate mortgage financing for the acquisition and/or renovation of capital assets, including land, buildings and equipment.

Despite the great success today of Pegasus Transportation, Mr. Pereira has faced many challenges as a business owner and has overcome them with the SBA’s assistance beyond the 504 Loan Program. First, in 2001, Pegasus Transportation was dramatically affected by the 9/11 tragedy. The travel industry came to a halt. Mr. Pereira sought assistance from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Central Florida, which nominated him for the SBA award. The SBDC assisted Mr. Pereira in applying for a SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan to help bridge the gap created by the slump in travel after 9/11. Mr. Pereira sought SBA assistance again in 2004, after Hurricane Charlie struck the Orlando area, once again bringing transportation services to a halt. Mr. Pereira was approved for a second SBA disaster loan.

Mr. Pereira will be honored along with other winners at the 19th Annual Small Business Week & Lender Awards Celebration on May 25 in Jacksonville.

Florida First Capital is a statewide, non-profit SBA certified development company that promotes economic development and job creation throughout Florida. It works with the SBA and private-sector lenders to ensure that Florida small businesses have access to the affordable capital they need. FFCFC lends under the SBA 504 loan program as well as the State of Florida Recycling Loan Program and other small business assistance programs. For more information, call FFCFC at 888-320-5504 or visit www.ffcfc.com.