Loan provides working capital for #2 boat retailer in the country.

HACKENSACK, NJ, November 12, 2003 — A $5.3 million loan from Kennedy Funding, a direct private lender based in Hackensack, N.J., will enable Austin, Texas-based Travis Boats & Motors, a public company (NASDAQ: TRVS), to recoup working capital used by the company to repay outstanding real estate loans.

According to Travis Chairman Richard S. Birnbaum, the company will use the funds to refinance several real estate properties or pursue sale/leaseback options for the properties with the goal of increasing the company’s working capital. Since March 2003, Travis Boats has repaid four real estate loans totaling $1.7 million held by Hibernia Bank of New Orleans.

“As a major player in the retail boat industry, Travis Boats & Motors represents a sound lending investment,” says Joseph Wolfer, a principal of Kennedy Funding. “The loan is secured by first mortgages on seven retail stores in Michigan and the south.”

Travis Boats & Motors is the number two boat retailer in the U.S. behind MarineMax. The company sells recreational boats, motors, trailers, and other marine accessories through 35 Travis Boating Center superstores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Some locations also sell personal watercraft, offshore fishing boats and cabin cruisers. In addition, Travis provides financing, insurance and repair services. Tracker Marine, a boat manufacturer, holds voting control of 53 percent of Travis Boats’ shares.

Sales for the 2002 fiscal year totaled $176.5 million with net income of $16.7 million. From February to August 2003, Travis sold approximately $18.6 million of non-current and aged inventory at reduced retail sales prices and gross margins.

“Although Travis operates in a highly-competitive retail market and offers products of a highly seasonal nature which are influenced by weather conditions and the general economy, we are confident that the company’s quality inventory, customer service, and strong retail store network will continue to yield solid growth,” says Wolfer.

With two decades of experience as a direct private lender, Kennedy has earned a national reputation for its lending expertise and ability to devise innovative strategies to deal with commercial property workouts, foreclosures, acquisitions, refinancing, bankruptcies and related situations. Kennedy has a staff of seasoned financial experts who excel at addressing complex loan scenarios.

“Very few lenders issue loan commitments as quickly as we can,” says Wolfer. “We issued a loan commitment to Travis in two days and closed in a week. In a global economic market time is more than money – it can literally make or break the deal.”

“Unlike many traditional lenders who disappear once you’ve handed them the paperwork, we work closely with our clients to ensure their success and to structure the best deal possible for their situation,” says Wolfer. “Lending is a relationship business and we see ourselves as partners of our clients working together towards a common goal.”

According to Wolfer, traditional lenders are too often mired in red tape and layers of decision-makers that delay the loan process. This process, he says, fails to address borrowers’ needs in a timely manner, leaving the borrower hanging.

“What differentiates Kennedy Funding is our ability to move the deal through the process quickly and efficiently to meet borrowers’ needs,” adds Wolfer.

Kennedy Funding is known nationally and internationally as a resourceful, key lender for commercial real estate projects of every type. In 1996, the lender branched out beyond its national service area into commercial loans in the international arena.

In addition, Kennedy has expanded its lending scope to include enterprises across a wide variety of industry categories, including commercial real estate, resorts and lodging, golf course development, sports complexes, media (TV and radio stations), retail, airlines, and a diverse range of business enterprises.