Business Description

Corporation Law on May 30, 2001. We are an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that has elected to be treated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. In addition, we have elected to be treated for tax purposes as a RIC under the Code. We were established for the purpose of investing in debt and equity securities of established private businesses operating in the United States (“U.S.”). Shares of our common stock trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the trading symbol “GLAD”. Our 6.25% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (the “Series A Preferred Stock”), our 3.75% notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”), and our 5.875% Convertible Notes due 2030 (the “2030 Convertible Notes”) are not listed or traded on any exchange or automated quotation system. The outstanding shares and per share amounts of the Company’s common stock in this Annual Report have been retroactively adjusted for the 1-for-2 reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”) effected on April 4, 2024 (effective April 5, 2024 for trading purposes) for all activity prior to that date, unless stated otherwise. Investment Adviser and Administrator We are externally managed by the Adviser, an investment adviser registered with the SEC and an affiliate of ours, pursuant to an investment advisory and management agreement (as amended and/or restated from time to time, the “Advisory Agreement”). We have also entered into an administration agreement with Gladstone Administration, LLC (the “Administrator”), an affiliate of ours and the Adviser, whereby we pay separately for administrative services (the “Administration Agreement”). Each of the Adviser and the Administrator are privately-held companies that are indirectly owned by David Gladstone, our chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Gladstone also serves on the board of directors of the Adviser, the board of managers of the Administrator, and as an executive officer of the Adviser and the Administrator. The Administrator employs, among others, our chief financial officer and treasurer, chief valuation officer, chief compliance officer, chief administrative officer, co-general counsels and co-secretaries (one of whom also serves as the president of the Administrator) and their respective staffs. The Adviser and Administrator have extensive experience in our lines of business and also provide investment advisory and administrative services, respectively, to our affiliates, including: 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, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust (“Gladstone Land”); and Gladstone Alternative Income Fund, a registered, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that operates as an interval fund (“Gladstone Alternative,” with “Gladstone Land,” “Gladstone Commercial,” and “Gladstone Investment,” collectively the “Affiliated Public Funds”). In the future, the Adviser and Administrator may provide investment advisory and administrative services, respectively, to other funds and companies, both public and private. The Adviser was organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware on July 2, 2002, and is an SEC registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisors 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., at 1521 Westbranch Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102. The Adviser also has offices in other states.…