Austin-based construction fintech Billd has obtained a $100 million credit facility from alternative asset manager Victory Park Capital, giving it more firepower to lend to commercial subcontractors across the US.
Borrowing terms were not disclosed. The facility is debt, not equity, which is typical for lenders that need capital to fund the loans they make.
The cash flow problem
Subcontractors sit near the bottom of the construction payment chain. They have to buy materials and pay workers well before the project owner or general contractor pays them, and delays can stretch for weeks or months. That gap can force smaller firms to turn down work or stretch their own finances.
Billd’s products are designed around those payment cycles. It fronts money for materials and labour and offers pay-application financing, so subcontractors have working capital while they wait to be paid. The company says its underwriting technology is built specifically for construction projects, rather than adapted from general business lending.
A construction-first lender
Billd was founded in 2018 by Chris Doyle and Jesse Weissburg, both with backgrounds in construction and finance. Doyle says the company has spent eight years establishing construction working capital as an asset class, a pitch aimed at investors who might otherwise see the sector as too fragmented.
The company’s last facility of this size was a $100 million debt line in 2022, led by LL Funds. The new deal suggests that lenders still see appetite for the model after several years of higher interest rates and tougher conditions in commercial property.
What Victory Park brings
Victory Park Capital specialises in asset-backed finance. The partnership combines Billd’s construction underwriting and servicing with the firm’s experience in structured credit, with the aim of widening access to capital for subcontractors nationwide.
Why it matters
Specialist lenders have grown by serving industries that mainstream banks handle poorly. Construction fits the pattern: projects are complex, payments are staggered and credit risk depends on who is paying, not just who is borrowing. A larger funding line lets Billd take on more customers and projects without raising equity.
The risks are familiar. Lending against construction receivables can be hit when projects stall or owners dispute payments, and a downturn in building activity would test the model. For now, the new line suggests institutional investors are comfortable betting on it.