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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23, 2013

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

1933 Act File No. 333-185191

Form N-2

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

¨  PRE-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO.

x  POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1

GLADSTONE CAPITAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

1521 WESTBRANCH DRIVE, SUITE 100

MCLEAN, VA 22102

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (703) 287-5800

DAVID GLADSTONE

CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND PRESIDENT

GLADSTONE CAPITAL CORPORATION

1521 WESTBRANCH DRIVE, SUITE 100

MCLEAN, VIRGINIA 22102

(Name and address of agent for service)

COPIES TO:

Lori B. Morgan

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Suite 2800

Nashville, TN 37201

(615) 742-6200

(615) 742-6293 (Facsimile)

Approximate date of proposed public offering:  From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any securities being registered on this form will be offered on a delayed or continuous basis in reliance on Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, other than securities offered in connection with a dividend reinvestment plan, check the following box.   x

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

x   When declared effective pursuant to Section 8(c).

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to Section 8(a), may determine.

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED DECEMBER 23, 2013

PROSPECTUS

$300,000,000

COMMON STOCK

PREFERRED STOCK

SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS

WARRANTS

DEBT SECURITIES

We may offer, from time to time, up to $300,000,000 aggregate initial offering price of our common stock, $0.001 par value per share, preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share, subscription rights, warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, or debt securities, or a combined offering of these securities, which we refer to in this prospectus collectively as our Securities, in one or more offerings. The Securities may be offered at prices and on terms to be disclosed in one or more supplements to this prospectus. In the case of our common stock and warrants or rights to acquire such common stock hereunder, the offering price per share of our common stock by us, less any underwriting commissions or discounts, will not be less than the net asset value per share of our common stock at the time of the offering except (i) in connection with a rights offering to our existing common stockholders, (ii) with the consent of the holders of the majority of our outstanding stock, or (iii) under such other circumstances as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) may permit. You should read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement carefully before you invest in our Securities.

We operate as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company and have elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. For federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Our investment objectives are to: (1) achieve and grow current income by investing in debt securities of established businesses that we believe will provide stable earnings and cash flow to pay expenses, make principal and interest payments on our outstanding indebtedness and make distributions to stockholders that grow over time; and (2) provide our stockholders with long-term capital appreciation in the value of our assets by investing in equity securities of established businesses that we believe can grow over time to permit us to sell our equity investments for capital gains.

Our Securities may be offered directly to one or more purchasers, including existing stockholders in a rights offering, through agents designated from time to time by us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. The prospectus supplement relating to the offering will identify any agents or underwriters involved in the sale of our Securities, and will disclose any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between us and our agents or underwriters or among our underwriters or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. See “ Plan of Distribution. ” We may not sell any of our Securities through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such Securities. Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “GLAD.” As of December 20, 2013, the last reported sales price for our common stock was $9.56. Our 7.125% Series 2016 Term Preferred Stock is also traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol “GLADP.” As of December 20, 2013, the last reported sales price for our 7.125% Series 2016 Term Preferred Stock was $25.50.

Please read this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement, if any, before investing, and keep it for future reference. It concisely sets forth important information about us that a prospective investor ought to know before investing in our securities. We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This information is available free of charge by contacting us at 1521 Westbranch Drive, Suite 100, McLean, Virginia 22102, or by calling us collect at (703) 287-5800 or on our website at www.gladstonecapital.com . Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be part of this prospectus. The Securities and Exchange Commission also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains such information. This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

The securities in which we invest generally would be rated below investment grade if they were rated by rating agencies. Below investment grade securities, which are often referred to as “junk,” have predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. They may also be difficult to value and are illiquid.

An investment in our Securities involves certain risks, including, among other things, risks relating to investments in securities of small, private and developing businesses. We describe some of these risks in the section entitled “ Risk Factors ,” which begins on page 9. Common shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value and this may increase the risk of loss to purchasers of our Securities. You should carefully consider these risks together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement before making a decision to purchase our Securities.

The Securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by the SEC or any state securities commission nor has the SEC or any state securities commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

                    , 2013

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We have not authorized any dealer, salesman or other person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any accompanying supplement to this prospectus. You must not rely upon any information or representation not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement as if we had authorized it. This prospectus and any prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any security other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do they constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. The information contained in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement is accurate as of the dates on their respective covers only. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since such dates.

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC using the “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, we may offer, from time to time, up to $300,000,000 of our Securities on terms to be determined at the time of the offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the Securities that we may offer. Each time we use this prospectus to offer Securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. To the extent required by law, we will amend or supplement the information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement to reflect any material changes to such information subsequent to the date of the prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and prior to the completion of any offering pursuant to the prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. Please carefully read this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement together with the additional information described under “Additional Information” and “Risk Factors” before you make an investment decision.

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

The following summary highlights some of the information in this prospectus. It is not complete and may not contain all the information that you may want to consider. You should read the entire prospectus and any prospectus supplement carefully, including the section entitled “Risk Factors.” Except where the context suggests otherwise, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” and “Gladstone Capital” refer to Gladstone Capital Corporation; “Adviser” refers to Gladstone Management Corporation; “Administrator” refers to Gladstone Administration, LLC; “Gladstone Commercial” refers to Gladstone Commercial Corporation; “Gladstone Investment” refers to Gladstone Investment Corporation; “Gladstone Land” refers to Gladstone Land Corporation; “Gladstone Securities” refers to Gladstone Securities, LLC; and “Gladstone Companies” refers to the Adviser and its affiliated companies.

GLADSTONE CAPITAL CORPORATION

General

We were incorporated under the General Corporation Laws of the State of Maryland on May 30, 2001 and completed our initial public offering on August 24, 2001. We are externally managed and operate as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company and have elected to be treated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). For federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). We currently continue to qualify as a RIC for federal income tax purposes and obtain favorable RIC tax treatment by meeting certain requirements, including minimum distribution requirements. We were established for the purpose of investing in debt and equity securities of established private businesses operating in the United States (“U.S.”).

Gladstone Financial Corporation (“Gladstone Financial”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours, was established on November 21, 2006, for the purpose of holding a license to operate as a Specialized Small Business Investment Company. Gladstone Financial (previously known as Gladstone SSBIC Corporation) acquired this license in February 2007. The license enables us, through this subsidiary, to make investments in accordance with the United States Small Business Administration guidelines for specialized small business investment companies. As of September 30, 2013, 0.9% of our assets were invested in Gladstone Financial.

Our Investment Objectives and Strategy

Our investment objectives are to: (1) achieve and grow current income by investing in debt securities of established businesses that we believe will provide stable earnings and cash flow to pay expenses, make principal and interest payments on our outstanding indebtedness and make distributions to stockholders that grow over time; and (2) provide our stockholders with long-term capital appreciation in the value of our assets by investing in equity securities of established businesses that we believe can grow over time to permit us to sell our equity investments for capital gains.

To achieve our objectives, we seek to invest in several categories of debt and equity securities, with each investment generally ranging from $5 million to $30 million, although investment size may vary, depending upon our total assets or available capital at the time of investment. We aim to maintain a portfolio allocation of approximately 95.0% debt investments and 5.0% equity investments, at cost.

In general, our investments in debt securities have a term of no more than seven years, accrue interest at variable rates (based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”)) and, to a lesser extent, at fixed rates. We seek debt instruments that pay interest monthly or, at a minimum, quarterly, have a success fee or deferred interest provision and are primarily interest only with all principal and any accrued but unpaid interest due at maturity. Generally, success fees accrue at a set rate and are contractually due upon a change of control in the business. Some debt securities have deferred interest whereby some portion of the interest payment is added to the principal balance so that the interest is paid, together with the principal, at maturity. This form of deferred interest is often called “paid in kind” (“PIK”) interest.

Typically, our equity investments take the form of common stock or preferred stock, limited liability company interests, or warrants or options to purchase the foregoing. Often, these equity investments occur in connection with our original investment, recapitalizing a business, or refinancing existing debt.

We expect that our target portfolio over time will primarily include the following four categories of investments in private U.S. companies:

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Additionally, pursuant to the 1940 Act, we must maintain at least 70% of our total assets in qualifying assets, which generally include each of the investment types listed above. Therefore, the 1940 Act permits us to invest up to 30% of our assets in other non-qualifying assets. See. “ Regulation as a Business Development Company — Qualifying Assets ” for a discussion of the types of qualifying assets in which we are permitted to invest pursuant to Section 55(a) of the 1940 Act.

Because the majority of the loans in our portfolio consist of term debt of private U.S. companies that typically cannot or will not expend the resources to have their debt securities rated by a credit rating agency, we expect that most, if not all, of the debt securities we acquire will be unrated. Investors should assume that these loans would be at rates below what is today considered “investment grade” quality. Investments rated below investment grade are often referred to as high yield securities or junk bonds and may be considered high risk as compared to investment-grade debt instruments.

Our Investment Adviser and Administrator

Gladstone Management Corporation (the “Adviser”) is our affiliated investment adviser and a privately-held company led by a management team that has extensive experience in our lines of business. Another of our and the Adviser’s affiliates, a privately-held company, Gladstone Administration, LLC (the “Administrator”), employs, among others, our chief financial officer, treasurer, chief compliance officer, internal legal counsel and secretary and their respective staffs. Excluding our chief financial officer and treasurer, all of our executive officers serve as directors or executive officers, or both, of the following of our affiliates: Gladstone Commercial Corporation (“Gladstone Commercial”), a publicly traded real estate investment trust; Gladstone Investment Corporation (“Gladstone Investment”), a publicly traded BDC and RIC; Gladstone Land Corporation (“Gladstone Land”), a publicly traded real estate company that invests in farmland and farm related property; the Adviser; and the Administrator. Our treasurer is also the chief financial officer and treasurer of Gladstone Investment. David Gladstone, our chairman, chief executive officer and president, also serves on the board of managers of our affiliate, Gladstone Securities, LLC (“Gladstone Securities”), a privately-held broker-dealer registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

The Adviser and Administrator also provide investment advisory and administrative services, respectively, to our affiliates, including, but not limited to: Gladstone Commercial; Gladstone Investment; and Gladstone Land. In the future, the Adviser and Administrator may provide investment advisory and administrative services, respectively, to other funds and companies, both public and private.

We have been externally managed by the Adviser pursuant to an investment advisory and management agreement since October 1, 2004. The investment advisory and management agreement originally included administrative services; however, it was amended and restated on October 1, 2006 and at that time we entered into an administration agreement with the Administrator to provide such services. The Adviser was organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware on July 2, 2002, and is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The Administrator was organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Delaware on March 18, 2005. The Adviser and Administrator are headquartered in McLean, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The Adviser also has offices in several other states.

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THE OFFERING

We may offer, from time to time, up to $300,000,000 of our Securities, on terms to be determined at the time of the offering. Our Securities may be offered at prices and on terms to be disclosed in one or more prospectus supplements. In the case of an offering of our common stock and warrants or rights to acquire such common stock hereunder in any offering, the offering price per share, exclusive of any underwriting commission or discount, will not be less than the net asset value (“NAV”) per share of our common stock at the time of the offering except (i) in connection with a rights offering to our existing stockholders, (ii) with the consent of the majority of our common stockholders, or (iii) under such other circumstances as the SEC may permit. If we were to sell shares of our common stock below our then current NAV per share, such sales would result in an immediate dilution to the NAV per share. This dilution would occur as a result of the sale of shares at a price below the then current NAV per share of our common stock and a proportionately greater decrease in a stockholder’s interest in our earnings and assets and voting interest in us than the increase in our assets resulting from such issuance.

Our Securities may be offered directly to one or more purchasers, including existing stockholders in a rights offering, by us or through agents designated from time to time by us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. The prospectus supplement relating to the offering will disclose the terms of the offering, including the name or names of any agents or underwriters involved in the sale of our Securities by us, the purchase price, and any fee, commission or discount arrangement between us and our agents or underwriters or among our underwriters or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. See “ Plan of Distribution. ” We may not sell any of our Securities through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of our Securities.

Set forth below is additional information regarding the offering of our Securities:

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FEES AND EXPENSES

The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the costs and expenses that an investor in this offering will bear directly or indirectly. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us” or “Gladstone Capital,” or that “we” will pay fees or expenses, stockholders will indirectly bear such fees or expenses as investors in Gladstone Capital. The following annualized percentages were calculated based on actual expenses incurred in the quarter ended September 30, 2013 and average net assets for the quarter ended September 30, 2013.

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From time to time, the Adviser has voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of the incentive fees, to the extent net investment income did not cover 100% of the distributions to common stockholders during the period, although no waiver was necessary for such purpose, or granted, for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. There can be no guarantee that the Adviser will continue to waive any portion of the fees under the Advisory Agreement in the future.

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Examples of how the incentive fee would be calculated are as follows:

= 100% × (2.00% - 1.75%)

= 0.25%

= (100% × (“catch-up”: 2.1875% - 1.75%)) + (20% × (2.30% - 2.1875%))

= (100% × 0.4375%) + (20% × 0.1125%)

= 0.4375% + 0.0225%

= 0.46%

= 20% × (6% - 1%)

= 20% × 5%

= 1%

For a more detailed discussion of the calculation of the two-part incentive fee, see “ Management — Certain Transactions — Investment Advisory and Management Agreement .”

Examples

The following examples demonstrate the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses that would be incurred over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our Securities. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed that our annual operating expenses would remain at the levels set forth in the table above. The amounts set

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forth below do not reflect the impact of sales load or offering expenses to be borne by Gladstone Capital or its stockholders. In the prospectus supplement relating to an offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus, the examples below will be restated to reflect the impact of the estimated offering expenses borne by Gladstone Capital and its stockholders and, in the event that securities to which this prospectus relates are sold to or through underwriters, the impact of the applicable sales load. The examples below and the expenses in the table above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses (including the cost of debt, incentive fees, if any, and other expenses) may be greater or less than those shown.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the Securities Act, with respect to the Securities offered by this prospectus. This prospectus, which is a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement or exhibits and schedules thereto. For further information with respect to our business and our Securities, reference is made to the registration statement, including the amendments, exhibits and schedules thereto.

We also file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the Exchange Act. Such reports, proxy statements and other information, as well as the registration statement and the amendments, exhibits and schedules thereto, can be inspected at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Information about the operation of the public reference facilities may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding registrants, including us, that file such information electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC’s website is http://www.sec.gov . Copies of such material may also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates. Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ and our corporate website is located at www.gladstonecapital.com . The information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of this prospectus.

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We make available free of charge on our website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC.

We also furnish to our stockholders annual reports, which include annual financial information that has been examined and reported on, with an opinion expressed, by our independent registered public accounting firm. See “ Experts. ”

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RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks described below and all other information provided and incorporated by reference in this prospectus (or any prospectus supplement) before making a decision to purchase our Securities. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or not presently deemed material by us, may also impair our operations and performance.

If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. If that happens, the trading price of our Securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to the Economy and Recent Legislation

The failure of U.S. lawmakers to reach an agreement on the national debt ceiling or a budget could have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

On October 16, 2013, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to reopen the government through January 15, 2014 and effectively suspend the debt ceiling through February 7, 2014 to permit broader negotiations over budget issues. In the event U.S. lawmakers fail to reach a viable agreement on the national debt ceiling or a budget, the U.S. could default on its obligations, which could negatively impact the trading market for U.S. government securities. This may, in turn, negatively affect our ability to obtain financing for our investments. As a result, it may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. While the U.S. had begun to see improving financial indicators since the 2008 recession, the recent events have created more uncertainty in the U.S. economy and capital markets. Therefore, we remain cautious about a long-term economic recovery.

The recession in general, and the disruptions in the capital markets in particular, have impacted our liquidity options and increased our cost of debt and equity capital. As a result, we do not know if adverse conditions will again intensify, and we are unable to gauge the full extent to which the disruptions will continue to affect us. The longer these uncertain conditions persist, the greater the probability that these factors could continue to increase our costs of, and significantly limit our access to, debt and equity capital and, thus, have an adverse effect on our operations and financial results. Many of our portfolio companies and the companies we may invest in prospectively are also susceptible to these unstable economic conditions, which may affect the ability of one or more of our portfolio companies to repay our loans or engage in a liquidity event, such as a sale, recapitalization or initial public offering. These unstable economic conditions could also disproportionately impact some of the industries in which we invest, causing us to be more vulnerable to losses in our portfolio, which could cause the number of non-performing assets to increase and the fair value of our portfolio to decrease. The unstable economic conditions may also decrease the value of collateral securing some of our loans as well as the value of our equity investments, which would decrease our ability to borrow under our revolving line of credit or raise equity capital, thereby further reducing our ability to make new investments.

There is still a great deal of volatility in the marketplace. Although, the temporary debt-ceiling raise, along with the possibility of another government shutdown, have been put off until early in 2014. The unstable economic conditions have affected the availability of credit generally. We do not know when market conditions will stabilize, if adverse conditions will intensify or the full extent to which the disruptions will continue to affect us. Also, it is possible that persistent instability of the financial markets could have other unforeseen material effects on our business.

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A further downgrade of the United States credit rating and the ongoing economic crisis in Europe could negatively impact our liquidity, financial condition and earnings.

Recent U.S. debt ceiling and budget deficit concerns, together with signs of deteriorating sovereign debt conditions in Europe, have increased the possibility of additional credit-rating downgrades and economic slowdowns. In August 2011, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.S. from “AAA” to “AA+.” On October 15, 2013, Fitch Ratings Service placed the U.S. credit rating on negative watch, warning that a failure by the U.S. Government to honor interest or principal payments on U.S. treasury securities would impact its decision on whether to downgrade the U.S. credit rating. Fitch also stated that the manner and duration of an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and resolve the budget impasse, as well as the perceived risk of such events occurring in the future, would weigh on its ratings.

The impact of any further downgrades to the U.S. government’s sovereign credit rating, or its perceived creditworthiness, and deteriorating sovereign debt conditions in Europe, is inherently unpredictable and could adversely affect the U.S. and global financial markets and economic conditions. There can be no assurance that governmental or other measures to aid economic recovery will be effective. These developments and the government’s credit concerns in general could cause interest rates and borrowing costs to rise, which may negatively impact our ability to access the debt markets on favorable terms. In addition, the decreased credit rating could create broader financial turmoil and uncertainty, which may weigh heavily on our stock price.

We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly and annual results based on the impact of inflation in the United States.

The majority of our portfolio companies are in industries that are directly impacted by inflation, such as consumer goods and services and manufacturing. Our portfolio companies may not be able to pass on to customers increases in their costs of operations which could greatly affect their operating results, impacting their ability to repay our loans. In addition, any projected future decreases in our portfolio companies’ operating results due to inflation could adversely impact the fair value of those investments. Any decreases in the fair value of our investments could result in future unrealized losses and therefore reduce our net assets resulting from operations.

Recent healthcare reform legislation may affect our results of operations and financial condition.

On March 23, 2010, the President of the United States signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and on March 30, 2010, the President signed into law the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which in part modified the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Acts”). Together, the two Acts serve as the primary vehicle for comprehensive health care reform in the U.S. The Acts are intended to reduce the number of individuals in the U.S. without health insurance and effect significant other changes to the ways in which health care is organized, delivered and reimbursed. The complexities and ramifications of the new legislation are significant, and have begun being implemented through a phased approach concluding in 2018. At this time, the effects of health care reform and its impact on our portfolio companies’ business, results of operations and financial condition and the resulting impact on our operations are not yet known. Accordingly, the Acts could adversely affect the cost of providing healthcare coverage generally and could adversely affect the financial and operational performance of the portfolio companies in which we invest and therefore our financial and operational performance.

Risks Related to Our External Management

We are dependent upon our key management personnel and the key management personnel of the Adviser, particularly David Gladstone and Terry Lee Brubaker, and on the continued operations of the Adviser, for our future success.

We have no employees. Our chief executive officer and president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, treasurer, and the employees of the Adviser, do not spend all of their time managing our activities and our investment portfolio. We are particularly dependent upon David Gladstone and Terry Lee Brubaker. Our executive officers and the employees of the Adviser allocate some, and in some cases a material portion, of their time to businesses and activities that are not related to our business. We have no separate facilities and are completely reliant on the Adviser, which has significant discretion as to the implementation and execution of our business strategies and risk management practices. We are subject to the risk of discontinuation of the Adviser’s operations or termination of the Advisory Agreement and the risk that, upon such event, no suitable replacement will be found. We believe that our success depends to a significant extent upon the Adviser and that discontinuation of its operations could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objectives.

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Our success depends on the Adviser’s ability to attract and retain qualified personnel in a competitive environment.

The Adviser experiences competition in attracting and retaining qualified personnel, particularly investment professionals and senior executives, and we may be unable to maintain or grow our business if we cannot attract and retain such personnel. The Adviser’s ability to attract and retain personnel with the requisite credentials, experience and skills depends on several factors including, but not limited to, its ability to offer competitive wages, benefits and professional growth opportunities. The Adviser competes with investment funds (such as private equity funds and mezzanine funds) and traditional financial services companies for qualified personnel, many of which have greater resources than us. Searches for qualified personnel may divert management’s time from the operation of our business. Strain on the existing personnel resources of the Adviser, in the event that it is unable to attract experienced investment professionals and senior executives, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The Adviser can resign on 60 days’ notice, and we may not be able to find a suitable replacement within that time, resulting in a disruption in our operations that could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations.

The Adviser has the right to resign under the Advisory Agreement at any time upon not less than 60 days’ written notice, whether we have found a replacement or not. If the Adviser resigns, we may not be able to find a new investment adviser or hire internal management with similar expertise and ability to provide the same or equivalent services on acceptable terms within 60 days, or at all. If we are unable to do so quickly, our operations are likely to experience a disruption, our financial condition, business and results of operations as well as our ability to pay distributions are likely to be adversely affected and the market price of our shares may decline. In addition, the coordination of our internal management and investment activities is likely to suffer if we are unable to identify and reach an agreement with a single institution or group of executives having the expertise possessed by the Adviser and its affiliates. Even if we are able to retain comparable management, whether internal or external, the integration of such management and their lack of familiarity with our investment objective may result in additional costs and time delays that may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our incentive fee may induce the Adviser to make certain investments, including speculative investments.

The management compensation structure that has been implemented under the Advisory Agreement may cause the Adviser to invest in high-risk investments or take other risks. In addition to its management fee, the Adviser is entitled under the Advisory Agreement to receive incentive compensation based in part upon our achievement of specified levels of income. In evaluating investments and other management strategies, the opportunity to earn incentive compensation based on net income may lead the Adviser to place undue emphasis on the maximization of net income at the expense of other criteria, such as preservation of capital, maintaining sufficient liquidity, or management of credit risk or market risk, in order to achieve higher incentive compensation. Investments with higher yield potential are generally riskier or more speculative. This could result in increased risk to the value of our investment portfolio.

We may be obligated to pay the Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a loss.

The Advisory Agreement entitles the Adviser to incentive compensation for each fiscal quarter in an amount equal to a percentage of the excess of our investment income for that quarter (before deducting incentive compensation, net operating losses and certain other items) above a threshold return for that quarter. When calculating our incentive compensation, our pre-incentive fee net investment income excludes realized and unrealized capital losses that we may incur in the fiscal quarter, even if such capital losses result in a net loss on our statement of operations for that quarter. Thus, we may be required to pay the Adviser incentive compensation for a fiscal quarter even if there is a decline in the value of our portfolio or we incur a net loss for that quarter. For additional information on incentive compensation under the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser, see “ Business — Investment Advisory and Management Agreements. ”

We may be required to pay the Adviser incentive compensation on income accrued, but not yet received in cash.

That part of the incentive fee payable by us that relates to our net investment income is computed and paid on income that may include interest that has been accrued but not yet received in cash, such as debt instruments with PIK interest or OID. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan, it is possible that such accrued interest previously used in the calculation of the incentive fee will become uncollectible. Consequently, we may make incentive fee payments on income accruals that we may not collect in the future and with respect to which we do not have a clawback right against the Adviser. Our OID investments totaled $74.1 million as of September 30, 2013, at cost, which are primarily all syndicated loan investments. For the year ended September 30, 2013, we incurred $0.3 million of OID income and the unamortized balance of OID investments as of September 30, 2013 totaled $1.0 million. As of September 30, 2013, we had three investments which had a PIK interest component and we recorded PIK interest income of $0.3 million during the year ended September 30, 2013. We collected no PIK interest in cash for the year ended September 30, 2013.

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The Adviser’s failure to identify and invest in securities that meet our investment criteria or perform its responsibilities under the Advisory Agreement would likely adversely affect our ability for future growth.

Our ability to achieve our investment objectives will depend on our ability to grow, which in turn will depend on the Adviser’s ability to identify and invest in securities that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis will be largely a function of the Adviser’s structuring of the investment process, its ability to provide competent and efficient services to us, and our access to financing on acceptable terms. The senior management team of the Adviser has substantial responsibilities under the Advisory Agreement. In order to grow, the Adviser will need to hire, train, supervise, and manage new employees successfully. Any failure to manage our future growth effectively would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

There are significant potential conflicts of interest which could impact our investment returns.

Our executive officers and directors, and the officers and directors of the Adviser, serve or may serve as officers, directors, or principals of entities that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do or of investment funds managed by our affiliates. Accordingly, they may have obligations to investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which might not be in the best interests of us or our stockholders. For example, Mr. Gladstone, our chairman, chief executive officer and president, is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Adviser, Gladstone Investment, Gladstone Commercial and Gladstone Land. In addition, Mr. Brubaker, our vice chairman and chief operating officer, is the vice chairman and chief operating officer of the Adviser, Gladstone Investment, Gladstone Commercial and Gladstone Land. Moreover, the Adviser may establish or sponsor other investment vehicles which from time to time may have potentially overlapping investment objectives with ours and accordingly may invest in, whether principally or secondarily, asset classes we target. While the Adviser generally has broad authority to make investments on behalf of the investment vehicles that it advises, the Adviser has adopted investment allocation procedures to address these potential conflicts and intends to direct investment opportunities to the Gladstone affiliate with the investment strategy that most closely fits the investment opportunity. Nevertheless, the management of the Adviser may face conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities to other entities managed by the Adviser. As a result, it is possible that we may not be given the opportunity to participate in certain investments made by other funds managed by the Adviser. On October 10, 2012, our Board of Directors approved a revision of our investment objectives and strategies that became effective on January 1, 2013, which may enhance the potential for conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities to us and other entities managed by the Adviser.

In certain circumstances, we may make investments in a portfolio company in which one of our affiliates has or will have an investment, subject to satisfaction of any regulatory restrictions and, where required, to the prior approval of our Board of Directors. As of September 30, 2013, our Board of Directors has approved the following types of co-investment transactions:

Certain of our officers, who are also officers of the Adviser, may from time to time serve as directors of certain of our portfolio companies. If an officer serves in such capacity with one of our portfolio companies, such officer will owe fiduciary duties to the stockholders of the portfolio company, which duties may from time to time conflict with the interests of our stockholders.

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In the course of our investing activities, we will pay management and incentive fees to the Adviser and will reimburse the Administrator for certain expenses it incurs. As a result, investors in our common stock will invest on a “gross” basis and receive distributions on a “net” basis after expenses, resulting in, among other things, a lower rate of return than one might achieve through our investors themselves making direct investments. As a result of this arrangement, there may be times when the management team of the Adviser has interests that differ from those of our stockholders, giving rise to a conflict. In addition, as a BDC, we make available significant managerial assistance to our portfolio companies and provide other services to such portfolio companies. Although, neither we nor the Adviser currently receives fees in connection with managerial assistance, the Adviser and Gladstone Securities have, at various times, provided other services to certain of our portfolio companies and received fees for these other services.

The Adviser is not obligated to provide a waiver of the base management fee, which could negatively impact our earnings and our ability to maintain our current level of distributions to our stockholders.

The Advisory Agreement provides for a base management fee based on our gross assets. Since our 2007 fiscal year, our Board of Directors has accepted on a quarterly basis voluntary, unconditional and irrevocable waivers to reduce the annual 2.0% base management fee on senior syndicated loan participations to 0.5% to the extent that proceeds resulting from borrowings were used to purchase such syndicated loan participations, and any waived fees may not be recouped by the Adviser in the future. However, the Adviser is not required to issue these or other waivers of fees under the Advisory Agreement, and to the extent our investment portfolio grows in the future, we expect these fees will increase. If the Adviser does not issue these waivers in future quarters, it could negatively impact our earnings and may compromise our ability to maintain our current level of distributions to our stockholders, which could have a material adverse impact on our stock price.

Our business model is dependent upon developing and sustaining strong referral relationships with investment bankers, business brokers and other intermediaries and any change in our referral relationships may impact our business plan.

We are dependent upon informal relationships with investment bankers, business brokers and traditional lending institutions to provide us with deal flow. If we fail to maintain our relationship with such funds or institutions, or if we fail to establish strong referral relationships with other funds, we will not be able to grow our portfolio of investments and fully execute our business plan.

Our base management fee may induce the Adviser to incur leverage.

The fact that our base management fee is payable based upon our gross assets, which would include any investments made with proceeds of borrowings, may encourage the Adviser to use leverage to make additional investments. Under certain circumstances, the use of increased leverage may increase the likelihood of default, which would disfavor holders of our securities. Given the subjective nature of the investment decisions made by the Adviser on our behalf, we will not be able to monitor this potential conflict of interest.

Risks Related to Our External Financing

In addition to regulatory limitations on our ability to raise capital, our revolving line of credit contains various covenants which, if not complied with, could accelerate our repayment obligations under the facility, thereby materially and adversely affecting our liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay distributions.

We will have a continuing need for capital to finance our investments. As of September 30, 2013, we had $46.9 million in borrowings outstanding under our fourth amended and restated credit agreement (our “Credit Facility”), which provides for maximum borrowings of $137.0 million. Our Credit Facility permits us to fund additional loans and investments as long as we are within the conditions set forth in the credit agreement. Our Credit Facility contains covenants that require Business Loan to maintain its status as a separate legal entity, prohibit certain significant corporate transactions (such as mergers, consolidations, liquidations or dissolutions) and restrict material changes to our credit and collection policies. The facility also limits payments of distributions to our stockholders to the aggregate net investment income for each of the twelve month periods ending September 30, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Business Loan is also subject to certain limitations on the type of loan investments it can apply as collateral towards the borrowing base in order to receive additional borrowing availability under our Credit Facility, including restrictions on geographic concentrations, sector concentrations, loan size, interest rate type, payment frequency and status, average life and lien property. Our Credit Facility further requires Business Loan to

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comply with other financial and operational covenants, which obligate Business Loan to, among other things, maintain certain financial ratios, including asset and interest coverage, and a required minimum number of 20 obligors in the borrowing base. Additionally, we are subject to a performance guaranty that requires us to maintain (i) a minimum net worth (defined in our Credit Facility to include our Term Preferred Stock) of $190.0 million plus 50.0% of all equity and subordinated debt raised after January 19, 2012, which equates to $190.0 million as of September 30, 2013, (ii) asset coverage with respect to Senior Securities representing indebtedness of at least 200.0%, in accordance with Section 18 of the 1940 Act and (iii) our status as a BDC under the 1940 Act and as a RIC under the Code. As of September 30, 2013, we were in compliance with all of our Credit Facility covenants; however, our continued compliance depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control.

Given the continued uncertainty in the capital markets, the cumulative unrealized depreciation in our portfolio may increase in future periods and threaten our ability to comply with the minimum net worth covenant and other covenants under our Credit Facility. Our failure to satisfy these covenants could result in foreclosure by our lenders, which would accelerate our repayment obligations under the facility and thereby have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

Any inability to renew, extend or replace our Credit Facility on terms favorable to us, or at all, could adversely impact our liquidity and ability to fund new investments or maintain distributions to our stockholders.

The maturity date of our Credit Facility is January 19, 2016 (the “Maturity Date”). If our Credit Facility is not renewed or extended by the Maturity Date, all principal and interest will be due and payable on or before January 19, 2017 (one year after the Maturity Date). Subject to certain terms and conditions, our Credit Facility may be expanded to a total of $237.0 million through the addition of other lenders to the facility. However, if additional lenders are unwilling to join the facility on its terms, we will be unable to expand the facility and thus will continue to have limited availability to finance new investments under our Credit Facility. There can be no guarantee that we will be able to renew, extend or replace our Credit Facility upon its maturity in 2016 on terms that are favorable to us, if at all. Our ability to expand our Credit Facility, and to obtain replacement financing at the time of its maturity, will be constrained by then-current economic conditions affecting the credit markets. In the event that we are not able to expand our Credit Facility, or to renew, extend or refinance our Credit Facility at the time of its maturity, this could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and ability to fund new investments, our ability to make distributions to our stockholders and our ability to qualify as a RIC under the Code.

If we are unable to secure replacement financing, we may be forced to sell certain assets on disadvantageous terms, which may result in realized losses, and such realized losses could materially exceed the amount of any unrealized depreciation on these assets as of our most recent balance sheet date, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Such circumstances would also increase the likelihood that we would be required to redeem some or all of our outstanding Term Preferred Stock, which could potentially require us to sell more assets. In addition to selling assets, or as an alternative, we may issue equity in order to repay amounts outstanding under our Credit Facility. Based on the recent trading prices of our stock, such an equity offering may have a substantial dilutive impact on our existing stockholders’ interest in our earnings, assets and voting interest in us. If we are able to renew, extend or refinance our Credit Facility prior to maturity, any renewal, extension or refinancing of our Credit Facility will potentially result in significantly higher interest rates and related charges and may impose significant restrictions on the use of borrowed funds to fund investments or maintain distributions to stockholders.

Our business plan is dependent upon external financing, which is constrained by the limitations of the 1940 Act.

The last equity offering we completed was for our Term Preferred Stock in November 2011, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise capital through issuing equity in the near future. Our business requires a substantial amount of cash to operate and grow. We may acquire such additional capital from the following sources:

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We financed certain of our investments with borrowed money and capital from the issuance of Senior Securities, which will magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.

The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns on our portfolio, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical, and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing in the table below.

Based on an aggregate outstanding indebtedness of $46.9 million at cost, as of September 30, 2013, the effective annual interest rate of 5.75% as of that date, and aggregate liquidation preference of our Term Preferred Stock of $38.5 million, our investment portfolio at fair value would have had to produce an annual return of at least 2.0% to cover annual interest payments on the outstanding debt and dividends on our Term Preferred Stock.

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A change in interest rates may adversely affect our profitability and our hedging strategy may expose us to additional risks.

We anticipate using a combination of equity and long-term and short-term borrowings to finance our investment activities. As a result, a portion of our income will depend upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds and the rate at which we loan these funds. Higher interest rates on our borrowings will decrease the overall return on our portfolio.

Ultimately, we expect approximately 90.0% of the loans in our portfolio to be at variable rates determined on the basis of the LIBOR and approximately 10.0% to be at fixed rates. As of September 30, 2013, based on the total principal balance of debt outstanding, our portfolio consisted of approximately 85.4% of loans at variable rates with floors, approximately 14.6% at fixed rates.

We currently hold one interest rate cap agreement, which is not designated as a hedge for accounting purposes. While hedging activities may insulate us against adverse fluctuations in interest rates, they may also limit our ability to participate in the benefits of lower interest rates with respect to the hedged portfolio. Adverse developments resulting from changes in interest rates or any future hedging transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to receive payments pursuant to an interest rate cap agreement is linked to the ability of the counter-party to that agreement to make the required payments. To the extent that the counter-party to the agreement is unable to pay pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we may lose the hedging protection of the interest rate cap agreement.

Pending legislation may allow us to incur additional leverage.

As a BDC, we are generally not permitted to incur indebtedness (which includes senior securities representing indebtedness and senior securities that are stock) unless immediately after such borrowing we have an asset coverage (as defined in Section 18(h) of the 1940 Act) for total of at least 200.0% (i.e. the amount of borrowings may not exceed 50% of the value of our assets). Legislation pending reintroduction to the U.S. House of Representatives, if passed, would modify this section of the 1940 Act and increase the amount of such indebtedness that BDCs may incur by modifying the percentage from 200.0% to 150.0%. As a result, we may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future and therefore your risk of an investment in us may increase. Our mandatorily redeemable preferred stock is a senior security that is stock and so for this 200.0% asset coverage threshold is included as total indebtedness. There can be no assurance whether this proposed legislation will be passed in the current form, or at all.

Risks Related to Our Investments

We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities.

There has been increased competitive pressure in the BDC and investment company marketplace for senior and senior subordinated debt, resulting in lower yields for increasingly riskier investments. A large number of entities compete with us and make the types of investments that we seek to make in small and medium-sized companies. We compete with public and private buyout funds, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies, and, to the extent that they provide an alternative form of financing, hedge funds. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which would allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC. The competitive pressures we face could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, as a result of this competition, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities from time to time and we can offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and make investments that are consistent with our investment objective. We do not seek to compete based on the interest rates we offer, and we believe that some of our competitors may make loans with interest rates that will be comparable to or lower than the rates we offer. We may lose investment opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms, and structure. However, if we match our competitors’ pricing, terms, and structure, we may experience decreased net interest income and increased risk of credit loss.

Our investments in small and medium-sized portfolio companies are extremely risky and could cause you to lose all or a part of your investment.

Investments in small and medium-sized portfolio companies are subject to a number of significant risks including the following:

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Because the loans we make and equity securities we receive when we make loans are not publicly traded, there is uncertainty regarding the value of our privately held securities that could adversely affect our determination of our NAV.

Our portfolio investments are, and we expect will continue to be, in the form of securities that are not publicly traded. The fair value of securities and other investments that are not publicly traded may not be readily determinable. Our Board of Directors has the investment valuation policy established by the Adviser and consistently applied valuation procedures used to determine the fair value of these securities quarterly. These procedures for the determination of value of many of our debt securities rely on the opinions of value submitted to the Adviser by SPSE or the use of internally developed discounted cash flow (“DCF”) methodologies or indicative bid prices (“IBP”) offered by the respective originating syndication agent’s trading desk, or secondary desk, specifically for our syndicated loans, or internal methodologies based on the total enterprise value (“TEV”) of the issuer used for certain of our equity investments. SPSE will only evaluate the debt portion of our investments for which the Adviser specifically requests evaluation, and SPSE may decline to make requested evaluations for any reason in its sole discretion. However, to date, SPSE has accepted each of the Adviser’s requests for evaluation.

The Adviser’s use of these fair value methods is inherently subjective and is based on estimates and assumptions of each security. In the event that we are required to sell a security, we may ultimately sell for an amount materially less than the estimated fair value calculated by SPSE, or utilizing the TEV, IBP or the DCF methodology.

The Adviser’s procedures also include provisions whereby it will establish the fair value of any equity securities we may hold where SPSE or third-party agent banks are unable to provide evaluations. The types of factors that may be considered in determining the fair value of our debt and equity securities include some or all of the following:

Because such valuations, particularly valuations of private securities and private companies, are not susceptible to precise determination, may fluctuate over short periods of time, and may be based on estimates, the Adviser’s determinations of fair value may differ from the values that might have actually resulted had a readily available market for these securities been available.

A portion of our assets are, and will continue to be, comprised of equity securities that are valued based on internal assessment using the Adviser’s own valuation methods approved by our Board of Directors, without the input of SPSE or any other third-party evaluator. We believe that the Adviser’s equity valuation methods reflect those regularly used as standards by other professionals in our industry who value equity securities. However, determination of fair value for securities that are not publicly traded, whether or not the Adviser uses the recommendations of an independent third-party evaluator, necessarily involves the exercise of subjective judgment. Our NAV could be adversely affected if the Adviser’s determinations regarding the fair value of our investments were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon the disposal of such securities.

The lack of liquidity of our privately held investments may adversely affect our business.

We will generally make investments in private companies whose securities are not traded in any public market. Substantially all of the investments we presently hold and the investments we expect to acquire in the future are, and will be, subject to legal and other restrictions on resale and will otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to quickly obtain cash equal to the value at which we record our investments if the need arises. This could cause us to miss important investment opportunities. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio quickly, we may record substantial realized losses upon liquidation. We may also face other restrictions on our ability to liquidate an investment in a portfolio company to the extent that we, the Adviser, or our respective officers, employees or affiliates have material non-public information regarding such portfolio company.

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Due to the uncertainty inherent in valuing these securities, the Adviser’s determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that could be obtained if a ready market for these securities existed. Our NAV could be materially affected if the Adviser’s determinations regarding the fair value of our investments are materially different from the values that we ultimately realize upon our disposal of such securities.

When we are a debt or minority equity investor in a portfolio company, which we expect will generally be the case, we may not be in a position to control the entity, and its management may make decisions that could decrease the value of our investment.

We anticipate that most of our investments will continue to be either debt or minority equity investments in our portfolio companies. Therefore, we are and will remain subject to risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree, and the shareholders and management of such company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our best interests. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that could decrease the value of our portfolio holdings.

In addition, we will generally not be in a position to control any portfolio company by investing in its debt securities. This is particularly true when we invest in syndicated loans, which are loans made by a larger group of investors whose investment objectives of the other lenders may not be completely aligned with ours. As of September 30, 2013, syndicated loans made up approximately 18.4% of our portfolio at cost, or $61.2 million. We therefore are subject to the risk that other lenders in these investments may make decisions that could decrease the value of our portfolio holdings.

We typically invest in transactions involving acquisitions, buyouts and recapitalizations of companies, which will subject us to the risks associated with change in control transactions.

Our strategy, in part, includes making debt and equity investments in companies in connection with acquisitions, buyouts and recapitalizations, which subjects us to the risks associated with change in control transactions. Change in control transactions often present a number of uncertainties. Companies undergoing change in control transactions often face challenges retaining key employees and maintaining relationships with customers and suppliers. While we hope to avoid many of these difficulties by participating in transactions where the management team is retained and by conducting thorough due diligence in advance of our decision to invest, if our portfolio companies experience one or more of these problems, we may not realize the value that we expect in connection with our investments, which would likely harm our operating results and financial condition.

Our portfolio companies may incur debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, our investments in such companies.

We invest primarily in debt securities issued by our portfolio companies. In some cases portfolio companies will be permitted to have other debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, the debt securities in which we invest. By their terms, such debt instruments may provide that the holders thereof are entitled to receive payment of interest and principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments in respect of the debt securities in which we invest. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization, or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, holders of debt instruments ranking senior to our investment in that portfolio company would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution in respect of our investment. After repaying such senior creditors, such portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of debt ranking equally with debt securities in which we invest, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other creditors holding such debt in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization, or bankruptcy of a portfolio company.

Prepayments of our investments by our portfolio companies could adversely impact our results of operations and reduce our return on equity.

In addition to risks associated with delays in investing our capital, we are also subject to the risk that investments we make in our portfolio companies may be repaid prior to maturity. For the year ended September 30, 2013, we received principal payments of a combined $110.5 million, of which an aggregate of $79.6 million resulted from 14 portfolio companies who paid off early at par. We will first use any proceeds from prepayments to repay any borrowings outstanding on our Credit Facility. In the event that funds remain after repayment of our outstanding borrowings, then we will generally reinvest these proceeds in government securities, pending their future investment in new debt and/or equity securities. These government securities will typically have substantially lower yields than the debt securities being prepaid and we could experience significant delays in reinvesting these amounts. As a result, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected if one or more of our portfolio companies elect to prepay amounts owed to us. Additionally, prepayments could negatively impact our return on equity, which could result in a decline in the market price of our common stock.

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Higher taxation of our portfolio companies may impact our quarterly and annual operating results.

The recession’s adverse effect on federal, state, and municipality revenues may induce these government entities to raise various taxes to make up for lost revenues. Additional taxation may have an adverse affect on our portfolio companies’ earnings and reduce their ability to repay our loans to them, thus affecting our quarterly and annual operating results.

Our portfolio is concentrated in a limited number of companies and industries, which subjects us to an increased risk of significant loss if any one of these companies does not repay us or if the industries experience downturns.

As of September 30, 2013, we had investments in 47 portfolio companies, of which there were five investments that comprised approximately $96.0 million or 37.4% of our total investment portfolio, at fair value. A consequence of a concentration in a limited number of investments is that the aggregate returns we realize may be substantially adversely affected by the unfavorable performance of a small number of such investments or a substantial write-down of any one investment. Beyond our regulatory and income tax diversification requirements, we do not have fixed guidelines for industry concentration and our investments could potentially be concentrated in relatively few industries. In addition, while we do not intend to invest 25.0% or more of our total assets in a particular industry or group of industries at the time of investment, it is possible that as the values of our portfolio companies change, one industry or a group of industries may comprise in excess of 25.0% of the value of our total assets. As a result, a downturn in an industry in which we have invested a significant portion of our total assets could have a materially adverse effect on us. As of September 30, 2013, our largest industry concentrations of our total investments at fair value were in healthcare, education and childcare companies, representing 17.7%; electronic companies, representing 13.1%; and personal and non-durable consumer product companies, representing 11.3%. Therefore, we are susceptible to the economic circumstances in these industries, and a downturn in one or more of these industries could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our investments are typically long term and will require several years to realize liquidation events.

Since we generally make five to seven year term loans and hold our loans and related warrants or other equity positions until the loans mature, you should not expect realization events, if any, to occur over the near term. In addition, we expect that any warrants or other equity positions that we receive when we make loans may require several years to appreciate in value and we cannot give any assurance that such appreciation will occur.

The disposition of our investments may result in contingent liabilities.

Currently, all of our investments involve private securities. In connection with the disposition of an investment in private securities, we may be required to make representations about the business and financial affairs of the underlying portfolio company typical of those made in connection with the sale of a business. We may also be required to indemnify the purchasers of such investment to the extent that any such representations turn out to be inaccurate or with respect to certain potential liabilities. These arrangements may result in contingent liabilities that ultimately yield funding obligations that must be satisfied through our return of certain distributions previously made to us.

There may be circumstances where our debt investments could be subordinated to claims of other creditors or we could be subject to lender liability claims.

Even though we have structured some of our investments as senior loans, if one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, depending on the facts and circumstances, including the extent to which we actually provided managerial assistance to that portfolio company, a bankruptcy court might re-characterize our debt investments and subordinate all, or a portion, of our claims to that of other creditors. Holders of debt instruments ranking senior to our investments typically would be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distributions. After repaying such senior creditors, such portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use to repay its obligation to us. We may also be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by us with respect to a borrower’s business or in instances in which we exercised control over the borrower. It is possible that we could become subject to a lender’s liability claim, including as a result of actions taken in rendering significant managerial assistance.

Portfolio company litigation could result in additional costs and the diversion of management time and resources.

In the course of providing significant managerial assistance to certain of our portfolio companies, our executive officers sometimes serve as directors on the boards of such companies. To the extent that litigation arises out of our investments in these companies, such executive officers may be named as defendants in such litigation, which could result in additional costs and the diversion of management time and resources.

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We may not realize gains from our equity investments and other yield enhancements.

When we make a subordinated loan, we may receive warrants to purchase stock issued by the borrower or other yield enhancements, such as success fees. Our goal is to ultimately dispose of these equity interests and realize gains upon our disposition of such interests. We expect that, over time, the gains we realize on these warrants and other yield enhancements will offset any losses we experience on loan defaults. However, any warrants we receive may not appreciate in value and, in fact, may decline in value and any other yield enhancements, such as success fees, may not be realized. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains from our equity interests or other yield enhancements and any gains we do recognize may not be sufficient to offset losses we experience on our loan portfolio.

Any unrealized depreciation we experience on our investment portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income available for distribution.

As a BDC we are required to carry our investments at market value or, if no market value is ascertainable, at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our Board of Directors. We will record decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments as unrealized depreciation. Since our inception, we have, at times, incurred a cumulative net unrealized depreciation of our portfolio. Any unrealized depreciation in our investment portfolio could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our income available for distribution to stockholders in future periods.

Risks Related to Our Regulation and Structure

We will be subject to corporate-level tax if we are unable to satisfy Code requirements for RIC qualification.

To maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must meet income source, asset diversification, and annual distribution requirements. The annual distribution requirement is satisfied if we distribute at least 90.0% of our investment company taxable income to our stockholders on an annual basis. Because we use leverage, we are subject to certain asset coverage ratio requirements under the 1940 Act and could, under certain circumstances, be restricted from making distributions necessary to qualify as a RIC. Warrants we receive with respect to debt investments will create “original issue discount,” which we must recognize as ordinary income over the term of the debt investment and which will increase the amounts we are required to distribute to maintain RIC status. Because such warrants will not produce distributable cash for us at the same time as we are required to make distributions in respect of the related original issue discount, we will need to use cash from other sources to satisfy such distribution requirements. The asset diversification requirements must be met at the end of each calendar quarter. If we fail to meet these tests, we may need to quickly dispose of certain investments to prevent the loss of RIC status. Since most of our investments will be illiquid, such dispositions, if even possible, may not be made at prices advantageous to us and, in fact, may result in substantial losses. If we fail to qualify as a RIC for any reason and become fully subject to corporate income tax, the resulting corporate taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution, and the actual amount distributed. Such a failure would have a material adverse effect on us and our shares. For additional information regarding asset coverage ratio and RIC requirements, see “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations ” and “Regulation as a Business Development Company.”

From time to time, some of our debt investments may include success fees that would generate payments to us if the business is ultimately sold. Because the satisfaction of these success fees, and the ultimate payment of these fees, is uncertain, we do not recognize them as income until we have received payment. We sought and received approval for a change in accounting method from the IRS related to our tax treatment for success fees. As a result, we, in effect, will continue to account for the recognition of income from the success fees upon receipt, or when the amounts become fixed. Prior to January 1, 2011, we treated the success fee amounts as a capital gain for tax characterization purposes. However, effective January 1, 2011, the success fee amounts are characterized as ordinary income for tax purposes. The approved change in accounting method does not require us to retroactively change the capital gains treatment of the success fees received prior to January 1, 2011. As a result, we are required to distribute such amounts to our stockholders in order to maintain RIC status for success fees we receive after January 1, 2011.

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Changes in laws or regulations governing our operations, or changes in the interpretation thereof, and any failure by us to comply with laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business.

We and our portfolio companies are subject to regulation by laws at the local, state and federal levels. These laws and regulations, as well as their interpretation, may be changed from time to time. Accordingly, any change in these laws or regulations, or their interpretation, or any failure by us or our portfolio companies to comply with these laws or regulations may adversely affect our business. For additional information regarding the regulations to which we are subject, see “ Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations ” and “ Regulation as a Business Development Company .”

We are subject to restrictions that may discourage a change of control. Certain provisions contained in our charter and bylaws and Maryland law may prohibit or restrict a change of control and adversely impact the price of our shares.

Our Board of Directors is divided into three classes, with the term of the directors in each class expiring every third year. At each annual meeting of stockholders, the successors to the class of directors whose term expires at such meeting will be elected to hold office for a term expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders held in the third year following the year of their election. After election, a director may only be removed by our stockholders for cause. Election of directors for staggered terms with limited rights to remove directors makes it more difficult for a hostile bidder to acquire control of us. The existence of this provision may negatively impact the price of our securities and may discourage third-party bids to acquire our securities. This provision may reduce any premiums paid to stockholders in a change in control transaction.

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law may have the effect of inhibiting or deterring a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including:

The business combination provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law will not apply to business combinations that are approved or exempted by our Board of Directors prior to the time that one becomes an interested stockholder. In addition, as permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law, we have elected, by provision in our charter, which we refer to as our charter or our articles of incorporation, to exempt from the business combination provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law any shares of our stock which are or may be issued to or owned by an employee stock ownership or similar plan. Our bylaws contain a provision exempting the acquisition of our capital stock by our current or future stockholders, or their affiliates or associates, from the control share provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law. There can be no assurance that this provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future. However, so long as we are a BDC, we will amend our bylaws to be subject to the control share statute only if our Board of Directors determines that it would be in our best interests based on our determination that our being subject to the control share statute does not conflict with the 1940 Act.

Additionally, Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the Maryland General Corporation Law permits our Board of Directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to elect to be subject to certain provisions relating to corporate governance that may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change of control of our Company that might involve a premium to the market price of our common stock or otherwise be in our stockholders’ best interests. We are subject to some of these provisions, either by provisions of our charter and bylaws unrelated to Subtitle 8 or by reason of an election in our bylaw to be subject to the provisions of Subtitle 8.

In addition, the advance notice provisions of our bylaws could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest. See “ Certain Provisions of Maryland Law and Of Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. ”

Our charter permits our Board of Directors to issue up to 50.0 million shares of capital stock. Our Board of Directors may classify or reclassify any unissued common stock or preferred stock and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption of any such stock. Thus, our Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have a priority as to distributions and amounts payable upon liquidation over the rights of the holders of our common stock, which it did in connection with our issuance of approximately 1.5 million shares of Term Preferred Stock. Preferred stock, including our Term Preferred Stock, could also have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets) that might provide a premium price for holders of our common stock.

Risks Related to an Investment in Our Securities

We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results.

We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results due to a number of factors, including, among others, variations in our investment income, the interest rates payable on the debt securities we acquire, the default rates on such securities, the level of our expenses, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the level of our expenses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets, and general economic

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conditions, including the impacts of inflation. The majority of our portfolio companies are in industries that are directly impacted by inflation, such as manufacturing and consumer goods and services. Our portfolio companies may not be able to pass on to customers increases in their costs of production which could greatly affect their operating results, impacting their ability to repay our loans. In addition, any projected future decreases in our portfolio companies’ operating results due to inflation could adversely impact the fair value of those investments. Any decreases in the fair value of our investments could result in future realized and unrealized losses and therefore reduce our net assets resulting from operations. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

There is a risk that you may not receive distributions or that distributions may not grow over time.

Our current intention is to distribute at least 90.0% of our investment company taxable income to our stockholders on a quarterly basis by paying monthly distributions. We expect to retain some or all net realized long-term capital gains by first offsetting them with realized capital losses, and secondly through a deemed distribution to supplement our equity capital and support the growth of our portfolio, although our Board of Directors may determine in certain cases to distribute these gains to our common stockholders. In addition, our Credit Facility restricts the amount of distributions we are permitted to make. We cannot assure you that we will achieve investment results or maintain a tax status that will allow or require any specified level of cash distributions.

Investing in our securities may involve an above average degree of risk.

The investments we make in accordance with our investment objective may result in a higher amount of risk than alternative investment options and a higher risk of volatility or loss of principal. Our investments in portfolio companies may be highly speculative, and therefore, an investment in our shares may not be suitable for someone with lower risk tolerance.

Distributions to our stockholders have included and may in the future include a return of capital.

Our Board of Directors declares monthly distributions based on estimates of taxable income for each fiscal year, which may differ, and in the past have differed, from actual results. Because our distributions are based on estimates of taxable income that may differ from actual results, future distributions payable to our stockholders may also include a return of capital. Moreover, to the extent that we distribute amounts that exceed our accumulated earnings and profits, these distributions constitute a return of capital. A return of capital represents a return of a stockholder’s original investment in shares of our stock and should not be confused with a distribution from earnings and profits. Although return of capital distributions may not be taxable, such distributions may increase an investor’s tax liability for capital gains upon the sale of our shares by reducing the investor’s tax basis for such shares. Such returns of capital reduce our asset base and also adversely impact our ability to raise debt capital as a result of the leverage restrictions under the 1940 Act, which could have a material adverse impact on our ability to make new investments.

The market price of our shares may be volatile and fluctuate significantly.

The trading price of our common stock and our preferred stock may fluctuate substantially. In part due to the extreme volatility and disruption that have affected the capital and credit markets over the past few years, we have experienced greater than usual stock price volatility.

The market price and marketability of our shares may from time to time be significantly affected by numerous factors, including many over which we have no control and that may not be directly related to us. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

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Fluctuations in the trading prices of our shares may adversely affect the liquidity of the trading market for our shares and, if we seek to raise capital through future equity financings, our ability to raise such equity capital.

The issuance of subscription rights to our existing stockholders may dilute the ownership and voting powers of existing stockholders in our common stock, dilute the NAV of their shares and have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.

There are significant capital raising constraints applicable to us under the 1940 Act when our common stock is trading below its NAV per share. In the event that we issue subscription rights to our existing stockholders to subscribe for and purchase additional shares of our common stock, there is a significant possibility that the rights offering will dilute the ownership interest and voting power of stockholders who do not fully exercise their subscription rights. Stockholders who do not fully exercise their subscription rights should expect that they will, upon completion of the rights offering, own a smaller proportional interest in us than would otherwise be the case if they fully exercised their subscription rights. In addition, because the subscription price of the rights offering is likely to be less than our most recently determined NAV per common share, our common stockholders are likely to experience an immediate dilution of the per share NAV of their shares as a result of the offer. As a result of these factors, any future rights offerings of our common stock, or our announcement of our intention to conduct a rights offering, could have a material adverse impact on the trading price of our common stock.

Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a discount from NAV.

Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a discount from NAV per common share. Since our inception, our common stock has at times traded above NAV, and at times below NAV per share. During the past year, our common stock has consistently, and at times significantly, traded below NAV. Subsequent to September 30, 2013, our common stock has traded at discounts of up to 15.4% of our NAV per share, which was $9.81 as of September 30, 2013. This characteristic of shares of closed-end investment companies is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share will decline. As with any stock, the price of our shares will fluctuate with market conditions and other factors. If shares are sold, the price received may be more or less than the original investment. Whether investors will realize gains or losses upon the sale of our shares will not depend directly upon our NAV, but will depend upon the market price of the shares at the time of sale. Since the market price of our shares will be affected by such factors as the relative demand for and supply of the shares in the market, general market and economic conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict whether the shares will trade at, below or above our NAV. Under the 1940 Act, we are generally not able to issue additional shares of our common stock at a price below NAV per share to purchasers other than our existing stockholders through a rights offering without first obtaining the approval of our common stockholders and our independent directors. Additionally, at times when our common stock is trading below its NAV per share, our dividend yield may exceed the weighted average returns that we would expect to realize on new investments that would be made with the proceeds from the sale of such stock, making it unlikely that we would determine to issue additional shares in such circumstances. Thus, for as long as our common stock trades below NAV we will be subject to significant constraints on our ability to raise capital through the issuance of common stock. Additionally, an extended period of time in which we are unable to raise capital may restrict our ability to grow and adversely impact our ability to increase or maintain our distributions.

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Common stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock.

At our most recent annual meeting of stockholders on February 14, 2013, our stockholders approved a proposal designed to allow us to sell shares of our common stock below the then current NAV per share of our common stock in one or more offerings for a period of one year from the date of such approval, subject to certain conditions (including, but not limited to, that the number of common shares issued and sold pursuant to such authority does not exceed 25.0% of our then outstanding common stock immediately prior to each such sale). Absent such stockholder approval, we would not be able to access the capital markets in an offering at below the then current NAV per share due to restrictions applicable to BDCs under the 1940 Act. At the upcoming annual stockholders meeting scheduled for February 13, 2014, our stockholders will again be asked to vote in favor of renewing this proposal for another year. During the past year, our common stock has consistently, and at times significantly, traded below NAV. Any decision to sell shares of our common stock below the then current NAV per share of our common stock would be subject to the determination by our Board of Directors that such issuance is in our and our stockholders’ best interests.

If we were to sell shares of our common stock below NAV per share, such sales would result in an immediate dilution to the NAV per share. This dilution would occur as a result of the sale of shares at a price below the then current NAV per share of our common stock and a proportionately greater decrease in a stockholder’s interest in our earnings and assets and voting interest in us than the increase in our assets resulting from such issuance. The greater the difference between the sale price and the NAV per share at the time of the offering, the more significant the dilutive impact would be. Because the number of shares of common stock that could be so issued and the timing of any issuance is not currently known, the actual dilutive effect, if any, cannot be currently predicted. However, if, for example, we sold an additional 10.0% of our common stock at a 5.0% discount from NAV, a stockholder who did not participate in that offering for its proportionate interest would suffer NAV dilution of up to 0.5% or $5 per $1,000 of NAV.

If we fail to pay dividends on our Term Preferred Stock for two years, the holders of our Term Preferred Stock will be entitled to elect a majority of our directors.

The terms of our Term Preferred Stock provide for annual dividends in the amount of $1.7813 per outstanding share of Term Preferred Stock. In accordance with the terms of our Term Preferred Stock, if dividends thereon are unpaid in an amount equal to at least two years of dividends, the holders of Term Preferred Stock will be entitled to elect a majority of our Board of Directors.

Our Term Preferred Stock magnifies the potential for gain or loss for our holders of common stock and the risks of investing in our common stock in the same way as our borrowings.

Preferred stock, which is another form of leverage, has the same risks to our common stockholders as borrowings because the dividends on any preferred stock we issue must be cumulative. Payment of such dividends and repayment of the liquidation preference of such preferred stock must take preference over any dividends or other payments to our common stockholders. Preferred stockholders are less subject to our expenses or losses and are not entitled to participate in any income or appreciation in excess of their stated preference.

An investment in Term Preferred Stock with a fixed interest rate bears interest rate risk.

Our Term Preferred Stock, in general, pays dividends at a fixed dividend rate of 7.125% per year. Prices of fixed income investments generally vary inversely with changes in market yields. The market yields on securities comparable to our Term Preferred Stock may increase, which would likely result in a decline in the secondary market price of our Term Preferred Stock prior to the term redemption date. This risk may be even more significant in light of the low nature of the currently prevailing market interest rates.

A liquid secondary trading market for our Term Preferred Stock may not develop.

Although our Term Preferred Stock is listed for trading on the NASDAQ, such shares are thinly traded. The market for such shares is relatively illiquid compared to the market for other types of securities, with the spread between the bid and ask prices considerably greater than the spreads of other securities with comparable terms and features.

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Our Term Preferred Stock is not rated.

We have not had our Term Preferred Stock rated by any rating agency. Unrated securities usually trade at a discount to similar, rated securities. As a result, there is a risk that the shares of our Term Preferred Stock may trade at a price that is lower than they might otherwise trade if they were rated by a rating agency.

Our Term Preferred Stock bears a risk of early redemption by us.

We may voluntarily redeem some or all of our Term Preferred Stock on or after December 31, 2012, which is four years prior to its mandatory redemption date of December 31, 2016. We also may be forced to redeem some or all of our Term Preferred Stock to meet regulatory requirements and the asset coverage requirements of such shares, and any such redemption may occur at a time that is unfavorable to holders of our Term Preferred Stock. We may have an incentive to redeem our Term Preferred Stock voluntarily before the mandatory redemption date if market conditions allow us to issue other preferred stock or debt securities at a rate that is lower than the fixed dividend rate on our Term Preferred Stock. To date, we have not redeemed any of our Term Preferred Stock.

Claims of holders of our Term Preferred Stock are subject to a risk of subordination relative to holders of our debt instruments.

Rights of holders of our Term Preferred Stock are subordinated to the rights of holders of our indebtedness. Therefore, dividends, distributions and other payments to holders of Term Preferred Stock in liquidation or otherwise may be subject to prior payments due to the holders of our indebtedness. In addition, under some circumstances the 1940 Act may provide debt holders with voting rights that are superior to the voting rights of holders of our Term Preferred Stock.

Holders of our Term Preferred Stock are subject to inflation risk.

Inflation is the reduction in the purchasing power of money resulting from the increase in the price of goods and services. Inflation risk is the risk that the inflation-adjusted, or “real,” value of an investment in Term Preferred Stock or the income from that investment will be worth less in the future. As inflation occurs, the real value of our Term Preferred Stock and dividends payable on such shares declines.

Holders of our Term Preferred Stock bear reinvestment risk.

Given the five-year term and potential for early redemption of our Term Preferred Stock, holders of such shares may face an increased reinvestment risk, which is the risk that the return on an investment purchased with proceeds from the sale or redemption of our Term Preferred Stock may be lower than the return previously obtained from the investment in such shares.

Holders of our Term Preferred Stock bear dividend risk.

We may be unable to pay dividends on our Term Preferred Stock under some circumstances. The terms of our indebtedness preclude the payment of dividends in respect of equity securities, including our Term Preferred Stock, under certain conditions.

There is a risk of delay in our redemption of our Term Preferred Stock, and we may fail to redeem such securities as required by their terms.

We will generally make investments in private companies whose securities are not traded in any public market. Substantially all of the investments we presently hold and the investments we expect to acquire in the future are, and will be, subject to legal and other restrictions on resale and will otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to obtain cash equal to the value at which we record our investments quickly if a need arises. If we are unable to obtain sufficient liquidity prior to the term redemption date, we may be forced to engage in a partial redemption or to delay a required redemption. If such a partial redemption or delay were to occur, the market price of our Term Preferred Stock might be adversely affected.

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Other Risks

We could face losses and potential liability if intrusion, viruses or similar disruptions to our technology jeopardize our confidential information, whether through breach of our network security or otherwise.

Maintaining our network security is of critical importance because our systems store highly confidential financial models and portfolio company information. Although we have implemented, and will continue to implement, security measures, our technology platform is and will continue to be vulnerable to intrusion, computer viruses or similar disruptive problems caused by transmission from unauthorized users. The misappropriation of proprietary information could expose us to a risk of loss or litigation.

Terrorist attacks, acts of war, or national disasters may affect any market for our common stock, impact the businesses in which we invest, and harm our business, operating results, and financial conditions.

Terrorist acts, acts of war, or national disasters have created, and continue to create, economic and political uncertainties and have contributed to global economic instability. Future terrorist activities, military or security operations, or national disasters could further weaken the domestic/global economies and create additional uncertainties, which may negatively impact the businesses in which we invest directly or indirectly and, in turn, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition. Losses from terrorist attacks and national disasters are generally uninsurable.

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SPECIAL NOTE  REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

All statements contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement, other than historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements may relate to, among other things, future events or our future performance or financial condition. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “believe,” “will,” “provided,” “anticipate,” “future,” “could,” “growth,” “plan,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “if,” “seek,” “possible,” “potential,” “likely” or the negative of such terms or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: (1) further adverse changes in the economy and the capital markets; (2) risks associated with negotiation and consummation of pending and future transactions; (3) the loss of one or more of our executive officers, in particular David Gladstone and Terry Lee Brubaker; (4) changes in our business strategy; (5) availability, terms and deployment of capital; (6) changes in our industry, interest rates, exchange rates or the general economy; (7) the degree and nature of our competition; (8) our ability to maintain our qualification as a RIC and as a Business Development Company; and (9) those factors described in the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this prospectus. The forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement are excluded from the safe harbor protection provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 27A of the Securities Act.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise specified in any prospectus supplement accompanying this prospectus, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities for general corporate purposes. We expect the proceeds to be used first to pay down existing short-term debt, then to make investments in small and mid-sized businesses in accordance with our investment objectives, with any remaining proceeds to be used for other general corporate purposes. Indebtedness under our Credit Facility currently accrues interest at the rate of approximately 5.0% and matures on January 19, 2016. We anticipate that substantially all of the net proceeds of any offering of Securities will be utilized in the manner described above within three months of the completion of such offering. Pending such utilization, we intend to invest the net proceeds of any offering of Securities primarily in cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, and other high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less from the date of investment, consistent with the requirements for continued qualification as a RIC for federal income tax purposes.

PRICE RA NGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS

We currently intend to distribute in the form of cash dividends, a minimum of 90% of our annual ordinary income and short-term capital gains, if any, to our stockholders in the form of monthly dividends. We intend to retain long-term capital gains and treat them as deemed distributions for tax purposes. We report the estimated tax characterization of each dividend when declared while the actual tax characterization of dividends are reported annually to each stockholder on IRS Form 1099-DIV. There is no assurance that we will achieve investment results or maintain a tax status that will permit any specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. At the option of a holder of record of common stock, all cash distributions paid with respect to our common stock can be reinvested automatically under our dividend reinvestment plan in additional whole and fractional shares of our common stock. A stockholder whose shares are held in the name of a broker or other nominee should contact the broker or nominee regarding participation in a dividend reinvestment plan. See “ Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Regulation and Structure — We will be subject to corporate-level tax if we are unable to satisfy Code requirements for RIC qualification;” “Dividend Reinvestment Plan;” and “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations. ”

Our common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ under the symbol “GLAD.” Our common stock has historically traded at prices both above and below its NAV. There can be no assurance, however, that any premium to NAV will be attained or maintained. As of December 18, 2013, there were 47 stockholders of record, meaning individuals or entities that we carry in our records as the registered holder (although not necessarily the beneficial owner) of our common stock.

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The following table sets forth the range of high and low intraday sale prices of our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ and the dividends declared by us for the last two completed fiscal years and the current fiscal year through December 20, 2013.

The following are our outstanding classes of securities as of September 30, 2013.

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For purposes of computing the ratios, fixed charges include interest expense on borrowings, dividend expense on mandatorily redeemable preferred stock and amortization of deferred financing fees.

CONS OLIDATED SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following consolidated selected financial data for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The other data included in the second table below is unaudited. The data should be read in conjunction with our accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere herein.

OVERVIEW

General

We were incorporated under the Maryland General Corporation Law on May 30, 2001. We operate as an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company, and have elected to be treated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). In addition, for federal income tax purposes we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a BDC and a RIC, we are subject to certain constraints, including limitations imposed by the 1940 Act and the Code.

We were established for the purpose of investing in debt and equity securities of established private business operating in the United States (“U.S.”). Our investment objectives are to: (1) achieve and grow current income by investing in debt securities of established businesses that we believe will provide stable earnings and cash flow to pay expenses, make principal and interest payments on our outstanding indebtedness and make distributions to stockholders that grow over time; and (2) provide our stockholders with long-term capital appreciation in the value of our assets by investing in equity securities of established businesses that we believe can grow over time to permit us to sell our equity investments for capital gains. To achieve our investment objectives, our investment strategy is to invest in several categories of debt and equity securities, with each investment generally ranging from $5 million to $30 million, although investment size may vary, depending upon our total assets or available capital at the time of investment. We also aim to maintain a portfolio allocation of approximately 95.0% debt investment and 5.0% equity investment, at cost.

We focus on investing in small and medium-sized private businesses in the U.S. that meet certain criteria, including, but not limited to, the following: the potential for growth in cash flow, adequate assets for loan collateral, experienced management teams with a significant ownership interest in the borrower, profitable operations based on the borrower’s cash flow, reasonable capitalization of the borrower (usually by leveraged buyout funds or venture capital funds) and, to a lesser extent, the potential to realize appreciation and gain liquidity in our equity position, if any. We lend to borrowers that need funds to finance growth, restructure their balance sheets or effect a change of control. We invest by ourselves or jointly with other funds and/or management of the portfolio company, depending on the opportunity. If we are participating in an investment with one or more co-investors, our investment is likely to be smaller than if we were investing alone.

In general, our investments in debt securities have a term of no more than seven years, accrue interest at variable rates (based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”)) and, to a lesser extent, at fixed rates. We seek debt instruments that pay interest monthly or, at a minimum, quarterly, have a success fee or deferred interest provision and are primarily interest only with all principal and any accrued but unpaid interest due at maturity. Generally, success fees accrue at a set rate and are contractually due upon a change of control in the business. Some debt securities have deferred interest whereby some portion of the interest payment is added to the principal balance so that the interest is paid, together with the principal, at maturity. This form of deferred interest is often called paid-in-kind (“PIK”) interest.

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Typically, our equity investments consist of common stock, preferred stock, limited liability company interests, or warrants to purchase the foregoing. Often, these equity investments occur in connection with our original investment, recapitalizing a business, or refinancing existing debt.

We are externally managed by our investment advisor, Gladstone Management Corporation (the “Adviser”), a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) registered investment adviser and an affiliate of ours, pursuant to an investment advisory and management agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser manages our investment activities. We have also entered into an administration agreement (the “Administration Agreement”) with Gladstone Administration, LLC (the “Administrator”), an affiliate of ours and the Adviser, whereby we pay separately for administrative services.

Our shares of common stock and term preferred stock are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) under the trading symbols “GLAD” and “GLADP,” respectively.

Business Environment

The strength of the global economy and the U.S. economy in particular, continues to be uncertain and volatile. Recently, we experienced the first U.S. government shutdown in 17 years along with a stalemate in the U.S. Congress over whether to raise the debt ceiling. The U.S. government budget concerns remain until early 2014 when the U.S. Congress will revisit the debt ceiling debate again. Prior to this recent U.S. fiscal crisis, economic conditions generally appeared to be improving, albeit slowly, since the 2008 recession. We have continued to remain cautious about a long-term economic recovery. The impacts from the 2008 recession in general, and the resulting disruptions in the capital markets in particular, have had lingering effects on our liquidity options and increased our cost of debt and equity capital. Many of our portfolio companies, as well as those small and medium-sized companies that we evaluate for investment, are still feeling the adverse impacts of these political and economic conditions, and if these conditions persist, it may affect their ability to repay our loans or engage in a liquidity event, such as a sale, recapitalization or initial public offering. These political and economic conditions could also disproportionately impact some of the industries in which we have invested, causing us to be more vulnerable to losses in our portfolio, which could cause the number of our non-performing assets to increase and the fair market value of our portfolio to decrease.

In addition, there has been increased competitive pressure in the BDC and investment company marketplace for senior and senior subordinated debt, resulting in lower yields for increasingly riskier investments. We believe we are in a protracted economic recovery; however, we do not know if market conditions will continue to improve or if adverse conditions will again intensify, and we do not know the full extent to which the inability of the U.S. government to address its fiscal condition in the near and long term will affect us. If market instability persists or intensifies, we may experience difficulty in raising capital. In summary, we believe that are in a protracted economic recovery, but that the recent U.S. fiscal crisis has temporarily suppressed that recovery. We do not know the full extent to which the impact of the lingering recessionary economic conditions will affect us or our portfolio companies.

Portfolio Activity

While conditions remain somewhat challenging in the marketplace, we are seeing a number of new investment opportunities that are consistent with our investment objectives and strategies. During the year ended September 30, 2013, we invested in 15 new proprietary and syndicate investments totaling $80.4 million; however, we experienced a net contraction in our overall portfolio of three portfolio companies, primarily due to 14 portfolio companies paying off early during the year, for an aggregate of $79.6 million in unscheduled payoffs. Subsequent to September 30, 2013, we invested $7.0 million in one new proprietary investment, as discussed under “ —Investment Highlights .”

In addition, in July 2012, the SEC granted us an exemptive order that expands our ability to co-invest with certain of our affiliates by permitting us, under certain circumstances, to co-invest with Gladstone Investment Corporation (“Gladstone Investment”) and any future business development company or closed-end management investment company that is advised by the Adviser (or sub-advised by the Adviser if it controls the fund) or any combination of the foregoing subject to the conditions in the SEC’s order. We believe this ability to co-invest will enhance our ability to further our investment objectives and strategies. We co-invested with Gladstone Investment in two new proprietary investments—one in each of May and October 2013, as discussed under “ —Investment Highlights .”

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Regulatory Compliance

Challenges in the current market are intensified for us by certain regulatory limitations under the Code and the 1940 Act, as well as contractual restrictions under the agreement governing our $137.0 million revolving line of credit (our “Credit Facility,” described more fully under “ —Liquidity and Results of Operations—Revolving Credit Facility ” below) that further constrain our ability to access the capital markets. To qualify to be taxed as a RIC, we must distribute at least 90.0% of our “investment company taxable income,” which is generally our net ordinary income plus the excess of our net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses. Because we are required to satisfy the RIC annual stockholder distribution requirement, and because the illiquidity of many of our investments makes it difficult for us to finance new investments through the sale of current investments, our ability to make new investments is highly dependent upon external financing. Our external financing sources include the issuance of equity securities, debt securities or other leverage, such as borrowings under our Credit Facility. Our ability to seek external debt financing, to the extent that it is available under current market conditions, is further subject to the asset coverage limitations of the 1940 Act that require us to have an asset coverage ratio (as defined in Section 18(h) of the 1940 Act) of at least 200.0% on our senior securities representing indebtedness and our senior securities that are stock, to which we refer collectively as “Senior Securities.”

We believe that market conditions have affected the trading price of our common stock and our ability to finance new investments through the issuance of equity. On November 18, 2013, the closing market price of our common stock was $9.44, a 3.9% discount to our September 30, 2013, net asset value (“NAV”) per share of $9.81. When our stock trades below NAV per common share, as it has consistently traded over the last four years, our ability to issue equity is constrained by provisions of the 1940 Act, which generally prohibits the issuance and sale of our common stock below NAV per common share without stockholder approval, other than through sales to our then-existing stockholders pursuant to a rights offering. At our annual meeting of stockholders held on February 14, 2013, our stockholders approved a proposal which authorizes us to sell shares of our common stock at a price below our then current NAV per common share subject to certain limitations (including, but not limited to, that the number of shares issued and sold pursuant to such authority does not exceed 25.0% of our then outstanding common stock immediately prior to each such sale) for a period of one year from the date of approval, provided that our board of directors (our “Board of Directors”) makes certain determinations prior to any such sale. At the upcoming annual stockholders meeting scheduled for February 13, 2014, our stockholders will again be asked to vote in favor of renewing this proposal for another year.

The current uncertain and volatile economic conditions may also continue to cause the value of the collateral securing some of our loans to fluctuate, as well as the value of our equity investments, which has impacted and may continue to impact our ability to borrow under our Credit Facility. Additionally, our Credit Facility contains covenants regarding the maintenance of certain minimum loan concentrations and net worth, which are affected by the decrease in value of our portfolio. Failure to meet these requirements would result in a default which, if we are unable to obtain a waiver from our lenders, would cause an acceleration of our repayment obligations under our Credit Facility. As of September 30, 2013, we were in compliance with all of our Credit Facility’s covenants.

We expect that, given these regulatory and contractual constraints in combination with current market conditions, debt and equity capital may be costly for us to access in the near term. However, we believe that our recent amendments to our Credit Facility to decrease the interest rate on advances and extend its maturity until 2016 and our ability to co-invest with Gladstone Investment and certain other affiliated investment funds, should increase our ability to make investments in businesses that we believe will be generally resistant to a recession and, as a result, will be likely to achieve attractive long-term returns for our stockholders. See “ —Recent Developments ” for more information on these transactions. Going into fiscal 2014, we will continue to focus on building our pipeline and making investments that meet our objectives and strategies and that provide appropriate returns, given the risks.

Investment Highlights

During the year ended September 30, 2013, we invested an aggregate of $80.4 million in 15 new portfolio companies and an aggregate of $9.7 million to existing portfolio companies. Also, during the year ended September 30, 2013, we sold our investments in two portfolio companies for net proceeds of a combined $6.6 million, and we received scheduled and unscheduled contractual principal repayments of a combined $110.5 million from existing portfolio companies, including 14 early payoffs. Since our initial public offering in August 2001, we have made 342 different loans to, or investments in, 172 companies for a total of approximately $1.2 billion, before giving effect to principal repayments on investments and divestitures.

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Investment Activity

During the year ended September 30, 2013, we executed the following transactions with certain of our portfolio companies:

Issuances and Originations

During the year ended September 30, 2013, we invested an aggregate of $50.2 million to five new proprietary portfolio companies and an aggregate of $30.2 million in 10 new syndicated portfolio companies (Ardent Medical Services, Inc., Blue Coat Systems Inc., First American Payment Systems, L.P., John Henry Holdings, Inc., New Trident Holdcorp, Inc., RP Crown Parent, LLC, Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc., SumTotal Systems, Inc., Wall Street Systems Holdings, Inc., and W3, Co.). We also invested in additional equity in RBC Acquisition Corp. (“Reliable”) and Midwest Metal Distribution, Inc. (“Midwest Metal”). Below are significant issuances and originations during the year ended September 30, 2013:

Repayments and Exits

During the year ended September 30, 2013, 34 borrowers made principal repayments totaling $110.5 million in the aggregate, consisting of $103.1 million of unscheduled principal and revolver repayments, as well as $7.4 million in contractual principal amortization. Below are significant repayments and exits during the year ended September 30, 2013:

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Refer to Note 16— Subsequent Events in the accompanying consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for investment activity occurring subsequent to September 30, 2013. Of note, the following significant new origination occurred subsequent to September 30, 2013:

Recent Developments

Notes Receivable from Employees

In July 2013, we received $1.0 million in full repayment of the outstanding principal and accrued interest owed on our employee note receivable from our chairman, chief executive officer and president, David Gladstone. Simultaneously, Mr. Gladstone’s related redemption agreement was terminated pursuant to its terms.

Amendment of Credit Facility

On April 26, 2013, we, through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Gladstone Business Loan, LLC (“Business Loan”), entered into Amendment No. 6 to our Credit Facility to extend the maturity date for one year to January 19, 2016. We incurred fees of $0.7 million in April 2013 in connection with this amendment, which are being amortized through the maturity date of our Credit Facility. All other terms of our Credit Facility remained generally unchanged at the time of this amendment.

On January 29, 2013, we, through Business Loan, entered into Amendment No. 4 to our Credit Facility to remove the one month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) minimum of 1.5% on advances. We incurred fees of $0.6 million in January 2013 in connection with this amendment, which are being amortized through the maturity date of our Credit Facility. All other terms of our Credit Facility remained generally unchanged at the time of this amendment.

Registration Statement

On November 29, 2012, we filed a universal shelf registration statement (our “Registration Statement”) on Form N-2 (File No. 333-185191) that was amended on January 17, 2013, and which the SEC declared effective on January 18, 2013. Our Registration Statement, of which this prospectus is a part, permits us to issue, through one or more transactions, up to an aggregate of $300.0 million in securities, consisting of common stock, preferred stock, subscription rights, debt securities and warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, including through a combined offering of such securities. We have not issued any securities to date under our Registration Statement.

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Executive Officers

On April 9, 2013, our Board of Directors appointed Melissa Morrison, the Company’s then current chief accounting officer, as chief financial officer. Concurrently, David Watson resigned as the chief financial officer of the Company to focus on his position as the Company’s treasurer and on his position as chief financial officer and treasurer for Gladstone Investment, an affiliate of the Company.

On February 5, 2013, our Board of Directors appointed David Gladstone as the Company’s interim president to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of George Stelljes III, effective January 31, 2013, the Company’s former president, chief investment officer and a director. Mr. Gladstone will hold this position until our Board of Directors finds a suitable replacement. Mr. Gladstone founded the Company and has also served as the chairman of our Board of Directors and the Company’s chief executive officer since its inception in 2001.

NM = Not Meaningful

Investment Income

Total interest income decreased by 7.1%, which was driven by a decrease of $2.4 million or 6.7% on interest income on our investments in debt securities for the year ended September 30, 2013, as compared to the year ended September 30, 2012. This was primarily due to the increase in early payoffs at par during the year, partially offset by an increase in our weighted average yield on our interest-bearing investment portfolio. The level of interest income on our investments is directly related to the principal balance of our interest-bearing investment portfolio during the year, multiplied by the weighted average yield. The weighted average principal balance of our interest-bearing investment portfolio during the year ended September 30, 2013, was $287.3 million, compared to $317.5 million for the prior year, a decrease of $30.2 million or 9.5%. The weighted

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average yield on the principal balance of our interest-bearing investments for the year ended September 30, 2013, was 11.6%, as compared to 11.3% for the prior year. The weighted average yield on our portfolio increased during the year ended September 30, 2013, as compared to the prior year, due to the purchase of higher yielding new proprietary investments coupled with the early payoffs of 12 of our syndicated investments, which generally bear lower interest rates than our proprietary investments.

As of September 30, 2013, two portfolio companies were on non-accrual status with an aggregate debt cost basis of approximately $39.5 million, or 12.6% of the cost basis of all debt investments in our portfolio. As of September 30, 2012, six portfolio companies were either fully or partially on non-accrual status with an aggregate debt cost basis of approximately $61.1 million, or 17.3% of the cost basis of all debt investments in our portfolio. During the year ended September 30, 2013, we sold our investments in two portfolio companies that had been on non-accrual status, wrote off our investment in one portfolio company that had been on non-accrual status, and sold substantially all of the assets of one portfolio company that had been on non-accrual status. See “ – Overview – Investment Highlights ” for more information. There were no portfolio companies that changed from accrual status to non-accrual during the year ended September 30, 2013.

Other income for the years ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, consisted primarily of success fees, which we generally recognize when payment is received. During the year ended September 30, 2013, we received an aggregate of $1.7 million in success fees, which resulted from the early payoffs at par of Westlake for $1.1 million in December 2012 and CMI for $0.6 million in September 2013. In addition, we received prepayment fees in the aggregate of $0.9 million during the year ended September 30, 2013, which resulted from the early payoffs of eight of our syndicate investments at par during the year. During the year ended September 30, 2012, we received an aggregate of $4.0 million in success fees, which resulted from the early payoffs at par of Winchester Electronics (“Winchester”) for $1.2 million, Global Materials Technologies (“GMT”) for $1.1 million, RCS Management Holding Co. (“RCS”) for $0.9 million and Northern Contours, Inc. (“Northern Contours”) for $0.8 million. In addition, we received prepayment fees in the aggregate of $0.2 million during the year ended September 30, 2012, which resulted from the early payoffs of five of our syndicate investments at par during the year.

The following tables list the investment income for our five largest portfolio company investments at fair value during the respective years: