Dailybusinessreview.com -VooDoo BBQ & Grill is the house that foreign capital built.

The owners of the chain's Florida franchises say they've raised $40 million from investors in 12 countries through the EB-5 visa program, sprouting new locations in Miami, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Pensacola.

Faced with a credit desert and stringent lending criteria as nearly 70 banks failed in Florida in the aftermath of the Great Recession, the New Orleans-style barbecue franchise had to look elsewhere.

The company found international lenders and cash-rich private equity firms to be the big-money lenders and backers of South Florida's most lucrative commercial deals.

"We're not where we were in '04 or '05 when anybody could get a loan, but the appetite from financial institutions is increasing," said Israel Alfonso, a Miami partner in Akerman, whose annual real estate survey measures economic conditions and investor confidence.

For VooDoo, the new wave of investment followed a tedious and futile fundraising drive in the U.S.

Jafrejo Holdings LLC, the chain's Florida franchisee, said its startup businesses faced multiple roadblocks from traditional lenders.

Read more:http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/id=1202669378296/Businesses-Relying-On-International-Lenders-Private-Equity#ixzz3CzyDCQyQ