Business loans for farms and agribusiness

Ardent Capital Group brings the same method to every client: execution and strategy, clear advice for smart lending, and long-term growth. That means the right lender, structure and timing, straight advice so you borrow with confidence, and today's deal built toward where you want to be tomorrow. We are specialists in helping business owners secure finance to purchase their own property, and we understand the complex structures that often sit around it, including multiple trusts, holding companies and self-managed super funds. Through that work we also understand what the business needs from its cash flow, and where an overdraft or line of credit fits for working capital. Income that arrives in lumps at harvest or sale, set against costs paid months earlier, is a profile a generalist bank desk often reads as irregular, so our job is to present the production cycle and the balance sheet the way an agricultural credit team assesses it. We work across a panel of more than sixty bank and non-bank lenders, several with dedicated agribusiness appetite, and we stay with your operation season after season as you expand, restock or add land. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

It depends on how quickly you need it and what you are willing to offer as security. Unsecured facilities are assessed mainly on trading strength and can be arranged in days, which suits a limit of $100K to $500K for inputs or short-term working capital. Secured facilities, backed by land, plant or livestock, support larger amounts and longer terms, and make sense once you are funding an expansion or a land purchase. Most established operators end up with a mix, and we shape which sits where.

It depends on your trading, your structure and the purpose, but lending here commonly runs from $100K to well into seven figures, and our range extends to $100M for larger operations. Agribusiness is assessed on the production cycle and the commodity rather than a monthly wage, so the season and the balance sheet are read together. The binding constraint is usually serviceability rather than security, and we shape the funding early so you know your number before you commit.

Yes, and the equipment is normally the security rather than the land. Tractor finance, headers, spreaders, sprayers and handling gear can all be funded new or used, and livestock bought in to grow out can go on a separate facility. Terms are typically matched to the working life of the asset, and established businesses can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials. Keeping a large machine off the overdraft leaves your working capital free for the season, and dealer and manufacturer programs are available too, which we compare against a bank facility.

By sizing the facility to the gap between when the seed, fertiliser and feed are paid for and when the harvest or the stock actually sells. That gap is the part operators most often underestimate, because the costs stack up early while the income sits months away. We set the limit to the peak of the season and structure repayments to start landing once the crop or the stock is sold. Bring us the plan for the season early, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

No. Plenty of operators fund a season without registering another charge over the land, either through unsecured facilities assessed on trading, or by securing against the machinery or livestock being purchased. Land security does support a larger limit and a longer term, so it is worth considering once you are borrowing well into seven figures or buying more country. The choice is yours, and we will show you what each option costs before you commit.

An unsecured facility can often be approved within 48 hours and funded inside a week where the business is established and the BAS and bank statements are current. Secured facilities take longer, typically two to four weeks, because a valuation is involved. The practical advice is to open the limit before the season starts, ideally when you are planning the inputs rather than when the invoice is already due. Timeframes are indicative and subject to lender appetite and approval.

Yes. Many lenders assess established producers on 6 to 12 months of bank statements and recent BAS rather than full year-end financials, which suits operators whose accounts lag the current season. It works best where the trading account shows the income cycle clearly and the ATO position is current. If you have a payment plan in place, say so early, because several lenders will still proceed when it is disclosed and being met, and we can bridge an ATO or BAS obligation between income events.

Yes, and it is a property deal rather than a working capital one. Agricultural land is assessed alongside the trading it supports, so your production cycle and the property are read together rather than the title alone, and getting the trading presented properly is most of the work. Owner-occupiers can generally borrow a higher proportion than a passive investor would. Our commercial property team handles these end to end through our agribusiness commercial mortgage service.

Most of the time, no. We are paid a commission by the lender once your facility settles. Where a deal requires significant preparation or involves unusual complexity, a small mandate fee may apply. We will always be upfront about this before any work begins.

Although we are based in Sydney, we service clients across all major Australian cities, including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart, along with their surrounding regional areas. Wherever your business is located, we can arrange your finance.

Although our main speciality is property loans for business owners, such as a property loan for your farm, we also assist with farm machinery finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers tractors, headers, handling gear and other farm machinery finance, plus livestock. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and seasonal input funding. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing the land your operation runs on.