Loans
Asset-secured business loans
Capital against property you already own, without refinancing a facility that already works and without two years of financials. Assessment is on the asset and the potential exit, not your income. Formal terms within 48 hours, and a clean file can settle in days.
Most businesses that come to us are in the same position. There is an asset worth something, a bank that is either too slow or not interested, and a date that is not moving. What changes from one file to the next is the job the money has to do, and that is what decides the loan.
Which loan fits your situation
| Your situation | Usual structure | Typical term |
|---|---|---|
| ATO debt or a creditor with a deadline | Caveat loan | 1 to 6 months |
| Releasing equity without touching your first mortgage | Second mortgage or equity release | 1 to 24 months |
| Buying before you sell | Bridging finance | 1 to 12 months |
| Buying commercial premises | First mortgage | 1 to 36 months |
| Funding a build under contract | Construction loan | Up to 24 months |
| Funding a project through to completion | Development finance | Up to 24 months |
| Buying or subdividing land | Land and subdivision finance | Up to 24 months |
| A gap between senior debt and your equity | Mezzanine finance | 6 to 36 months |
| Clearing construction debt at completion | Take-out funding | 1 to 12 months |
| Unsold stock at the end of a project | Residual stock loan | 1 to 12 months |
| Sound business, incomplete financials | Low-doc business loan | 3 to 36 months |
If your situation is not on that list, the security and the exit still decide the answer. Describe both and we will name the structure.
Short-term, against equity you already hold
These are priced monthly because they are measured in weeks and months. You borrow against equity you already have, and you repay from something specific: a sale, a refinance, a receivable, a settlement.
Caveat loans. A caveat lodged on your title behind an existing mortgage. From 1.65% per month, $50k to $3m, one to six months, up to 65% of value. The fastest instrument available and the lightest to put in place. This is the one that answers a deadline.
Second mortgages. Registered security behind your senior mortgage. From 0.975% per month, $150k to $7m, six to twenty-four months, up to 75% combined. Slower to register than a caveat and materially cheaper for it. The right call when the amount is larger or the timeline longer.
Bridging finance. From 0.975% per month, $150k to $7m, one to twelve months, up to 75%. For a gap with a date on it: buying before you sell, or holding a position while a longer facility is arranged.
Equity release. From 0.99% per month, $150k to $7m, one to twelve months, up to 75%. Capital drawn from property your company or trust already owns, without selling it and without disturbing the first facility.
Take-out funding. From 0.975% per month, $150k to $7m, one to twelve months, up to 75%. Clears construction or development debt at completion and holds against the finished project while you sell or lease.
Senior mortgages
Priced annually, for borrowers who need first-ranking security rather than a position behind someone else.
First mortgages. From 8% per annum, $250k to $10m, one to thirty-six months, up to 70% on commercial security. Senior security against commercial property, assessed on the asset and the exit. For owner-occupiers and investors the bank cannot fund in time or on the terms required.
Private commercial mortgages. From 9% per annum, $250k to $20m, three to thirty-six months, up to 70%. Non-bank commercial property finance, first or second ranking, for cases that fall outside bank credit policy while the security and the exit stay sound.
Development, construction and specialist
Priced annually and sized on project economics rather than on equity alone.
Development finance. From 8% per annum, $500k to $10m, up to twenty-four months, up to 70% of gross realisation. Staged funding drawn against works completed, for a project with approvals and a costed programme.
Construction loans. From 8% per annum, $500k to $10m, up to twenty-four months, up to 65% of gross realisation or 75% with a second mortgage. Progress draws certified against a fixed-price building contract.
Land and subdivision finance. From 8% per annum, $250k to $10m, up to twenty-four months, up to 70% of land value plus 100% of project costs. Secured against vacant land to buy, land-bank or subdivide. The advance against bare land is lower than against built form because the value is in what the land becomes.
Mezzanine finance. From 14% per annum, $500k to $10m, six to thirty-six months, up to 85% of cost. Sits behind the senior facility and ahead of your equity, closing a funding gap you would otherwise fill with cash.
Residual stock loan. From 11% per annum, $150k to $7m, one to twelve months, up to 75%. Releases equity from completed, unsold stock when the construction debt is due and the last units have not settled.
Low-doc business loans. From 11% per annum, $50k to $5m, three to thirty-six months, up to 75%. Secured lending approved on alternative income evidence rather than two years of full financials.
Asset-backed lending. From 11% per annum, $150k to $7m, one to twelve months, up to 75%. Where the security and the exit are clear but the right instrument is not yet obvious.
How much you can borrow
The number that matters is the combined position across every loan secured against the property, not the size of the new loan on its own. On suitable security that combined figure usually sits up to about 75%, and up to 65% on a caveat.
A property worth $2m with a $900k first mortgage is at 45%. Taking the combined position to 75% releases roughly $600k without disturbing the existing facility. Vacant land carries a lower advance than built form, and specialised or remote security carries lower again.
What it costs
Short-term products are quoted monthly and longer-term products annually. That is deliberate. A three-month caveat expressed as an annual rate tells you almost nothing about what you will actually pay, because you will not hold it for a year. Quoting the period you are actually borrowing for is the honest way to present it.
Expect an establishment fee of roughly 2% on short-term facilities and around 1.5% on annual products, plus valuation and legal costs. Interest is commonly capitalised or prepaid, so there is often nothing to service month to month and the debt clears at exit.
How fast it moves
Formal terms come back within 48 hours of having the borrower and security details, as well as the exit. A clean file can settle in as fast as 7 days. Caveat loans are the fastest because lodging a caveat takes far less time than registering a mortgage.
Do you have to refinance your existing mortgage
No. A caveat loan, second mortgage or equity release sits behind your senior facility and leaves it untouched. Your rate, your term and your lender all stay where they are. This is the single most common reason businesses use secured short-term funding rather than going back to the bank.
Who can borrow
Australian companies and trusts borrowing for a business purpose. These are not consumer loans and are not regulated under the National Credit Code. Assessment is on the asset and the exit rather than on serviceability, so there are no full financials to assemble and no income test to pass.
What we need to start
The amount, the asset and the timeframe, plus the rough position of any existing mortgage and how the loan will be repaid. That is enough to come back with indicative terms. Documents such as a rates notice, photo ID and a current mortgage statement only come in once an enquiry is progressing.
All figures above are indicative, current at the date on this page, and subject to assessment of the security and the exit.
Common questions
What is the difference between a caveat loan and a second mortgage?
A caveat is a notice lodged on your title and can be in place within days, which makes it the fastest option and the more expensive one, from 1.65% per month over one to six months. A second mortgage is registered security, takes longer to put in place and costs less for it, from 0.975% per month over six to twenty-four months. Speed against price is usually the whole decision.
Do I need my existing lender's consent?
A caveat does not require your first mortgagee to consent to registration, though your existing loan terms may speak to further security and are worth checking. A registered second mortgage generally does require the first mortgagee to consent. Where that consent is slow or unlikely, a caveat reaches a similar outcome without it.
Do I have to make monthly repayments?
Usually not. Interest on short-term facilities is commonly capitalised into the loan or prepaid at settlement, so there is nothing to service month to month and the debt clears in full at exit. That matters when the reason for borrowing is that cash flow is already tight.
Will defaults, ATO debt or a poor credit file stop it?
Not on their own. Assessment is on the security and the exit rather than on credit scoring or serviceability, and clearing an ATO debt is one of the most common reasons businesses use this funding. What matters is enough equity in the asset and a credible way the loan gets repaid.
What happens if my exit takes longer than expected?
Say so early. Extensions are ordinarily possible where the exit is still real and progressing, and they are far easier to arrange before a facility matures than after. Extending costs materially less than running into default interest.
What property can be used as security?
Commercial, residential, industrial, rural and vacant land held by an Australian company or trust. Advance rates differ by asset. Built commercial or residential security supports up to about 75% of value on a combined basis, while bare land and specialised or remote property support less, because the resale market for them is narrower.
Not sure which fits?
Enquire