Commercial Property Finance
Structured around the lease, not just the valuation.
Purchase, refinance and construction funding for commercial property — where the tenant, the lease term and the exit matter as much as the number the valuer arrives at.
- Owner-occupied and investment
- Lease-doc and full-doc
- Construction and SMSF structures
What this covers
Purchase and refinance
Offices, retail, industrial sheds, warehouses and specialised premises — owner-occupied or held as investment.
Owner-occupied premises
Buying the building your business already operates from. Often assessed on your trading performance rather than market rent, which can improve the outcome considerably.
Construction and development
Progressive drawdown facilities for commercial builds and extensions, assessed on the contract, the builder and the end value.
SMSF lending
Limited recourse borrowing to hold commercial property in a self-managed fund — commonly the premises your own business leases.
How it gets assessed
Three ratios decide most commercial property deals, and they are worth understanding before you sign a contract, because they determine your deposit.
- LVR — loan to value ratio
- Major banks typically cap commercial property around 65–70%, lower for specialised or single-purpose assets. Non-banks go higher at a cost. This sets your deposit, and valuations on commercial property are frequently below contract price.
- ICR and DSCR — can it service?
- Interest coverage and debt service coverage measure whether the income covers the repayments with room to spare. Funders generally want meaningful headroom, not a bare pass. For investment property that means net rent after outgoings; for owner-occupied, your trading profit.
- Lease quality and WALE
- A long weighted average lease expiry to a strong tenant transforms a deal. A short remaining term, an unknown covenant, or a vacancy on settlement narrows the panel and cuts the LVR — sometimes dramatically.
- Conditions and covenants
- Approvals arrive with conditions: satisfactory valuation, signed leases, insurance, equity contribution, annual reviews and ongoing covenants. We work through these before submission so they don't surface at settlement.
What we'll need
Commercial property deals are document-heavy and the documents usually sit with your accountant — starting early is the single best thing you can do for the timeline.
- Contract of sale, or current loan statements if refinancing
- Lease schedule, current leases and outgoings recovery detail
- Last two years financials and tax returns for all entities
- Personal tax returns and statements of position for all guarantors
- Year-to-date management accounts and BAS lodgements
- Trust deed, company constitution and ASIC extract where relevant
- Identification for all directors, trustees and guarantors
- Building contract, plans and builder details for construction
Where this gets difficult
Commercial property is the slowest of our four lines and the most sensitive to security quality. Timelines run weeks, not days.
- Specialised or single-purpose assets — service stations, childcare, hotels — where resale is narrow
- Vacant possession on settlement with no incoming tenant
- Short remaining lease terms or a tenant covenant that can't be evidenced
- Rural and remote locations, or postcodes funders restrict
- Development where presales or a fixed-price building contract aren't in place
Tell us the scenario.
We respond within one business hour, 8am–6pm ACST. If it isn’t fundable we’ll say so, and tell you what would need to change.
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