editorial: review + improve padel-business-plan-bank-requirements-en (C3)

- Fix gendered pronoun: "he'll" → "they'll"
- Align contingency figure: 10% → 10–20% (consistent with C7/C8 guidance)
- "despite the fact that" → "even though"
- Add bridge sentence before KfW section connecting to section 9 of plan framework
- Sharpen personal guarantees closer: "That comes across in a bank conversation"
  → "Banks can tell."

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

data/content/articles/padel-business-plan-bank-requirements-en.md

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ The formula:
 DSCR = operating cash flow ÷ annual debt service (interest + principal)
 ```
 
-The standard in German SME lending: **1.2 to 1.5x**. For every €1 of debt service, the project needs to generate €1.20–1.50 of cash flow. Below 1.2x, you'll either face rejection or be asked to inject more equity. A plan that doesn't make the DSCR calculation transparent forces the loan officer to do the math himself — and he'll be more conservative than you.
+The standard in German SME lending: **1.2 to 1.5x**. For every €1 of debt service, the project needs to generate €1.20–1.50 of cash flow. Below 1.2x, you'll either face rejection or be asked to inject more equity. A plan that doesn't make the DSCR calculation transparent forces the loan officer to do the math himself — and they'll be more conservative than you.
 
 The other hard constraint is **equity contribution** (*Eigenkapitalquote*): banks typically expect the founder to put in 20–30% of total investment. KfW subsidy programs can partly substitute for equity (more on that below), but they never replace it entirely. Coming to the table with 10% equity rarely works.
 
@@ -89,6 +89,8 @@ The balance sheet on Day 1: assets (fixed assets after CAPEX, opening cash) vers
 
 ## KfW Subsidy Programs for Padel Hall Projects
 
+Section 9 of the business plan framework above asks which financing programs have been evaluated. Here's the answer your plan needs to provide.
+
 KfW (Germany's state development bank) offers several programs relevant to padel hall construction and launch. One crucial operational detail: KfW loans are not applied for directly at KfW. They're applied for through your *Hausbank* (house bank), which passes the application to KfW and shares a portion of the default risk. This is precisely why your Hausbank cares so much about the quality of your business plan — they're on the hook too.
 
 **KfW Unternehmerkredit (programs 037/047)**
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ Each German state (*Bundesland*) runs its own SME and startup lending programs t
 - Hamburg: IFB Hamburg
 - Saxony: Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB)
 
-These programs are overlooked in the majority of business plans we've reviewed — despite the fact that combining them with KfW can meaningfully reduce the equity burden.
+These programs are overlooked in the majority of business plans we've reviewed — even though combining them with KfW can meaningfully reduce the equity burden.
 
 ---
 
@@ -129,7 +131,7 @@ What happens if utilization comes in 10 percentage points below plan? If constru
 
 ### 4. Incomplete CAPEX
 
-Frequently underestimated items: architect and engineering fees, permitting fees and costs of the *Baugenehmigung* (building permit), working capital for the ramp-up period (3–6 months of operating costs), pre-opening expenses (marketing, initial inventory, pre-opening insurance), and contingency (the industry standard is 10% of raw construction costs). Forget these, and you're underfunded from Day 1.
+Frequently underestimated items: architect and engineering fees, permitting fees and costs of the *Baugenehmigung* (building permit), working capital for the ramp-up period (3–6 months of operating costs), pre-opening expenses (marketing, initial inventory, pre-opening insurance), and contingency (minimum 10% of raw construction costs — 15–20% is more realistic for sports hall conversions). Forget these, and you're underfunded from Day 1.
 
 ### 5. No mention of KfW or subsidy programs
 
@@ -148,7 +150,7 @@ Questions worth answering before you proceed:
 - Are there assets that could be structured outside the exposure (specialist legal advice is essential here, as pre-signing asset transfers can be challenged under German insolvency law)?
 - How many months of operating losses could I absorb from personal resources?
 
-A founder who has worked through these questions has taken the project seriously. That comes across in a bank conversation.
+A founder who has worked through these questions has taken the project seriously. Banks can tell.
 
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