Business loans for architecture firms

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. A practice whose balance sheet is light on hard assets and whose income arrives in lumpy fee milestones is a profile a generalist bank desk often reads conservatively, discounting the signed fee pipeline that actually underwrites the work. Our role is to know the bank and non-bank lenders, more than sixty across our panel, that lend against fee income and WIP rather than bricks alone, so you are not approaching each one yourself. As your practice grows through new studios, hires and mergers, we stay on to reshape the facility as the work changes. 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 fee income and trading strength and can be arranged in days, which suits a limit of $100K to $500K for working capital, technology or a fit-out. Secured facilities, backed by property, support larger amounts and make sense once you are funding a merger or buying premises. Many established practices run a mix, and we shape which sits where.

It depends on your fee income, 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 practices. A professional practice is read on its fee pipeline and work in progress as much as its balance sheet, so the binding constraint is usually serviceability rather than security. We shape the funding early so you know your number before you commit.

Yes, and the equipment or fit-out is normally the security rather than the studio. Workstations, BIM and rendering hardware, plotters and 3D printers can all be funded new or used, and a full studio fit-out finance facility can spread a relocation over its useful life. Terms are typically matched to the life of the asset, and established practices can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials. Keeping the purchase off your overdraft leaves your working capital free for payroll and projects.

By lending against your signed fees and work in progress rather than waiting for the milestone to be billed. A long documentation phase or a slow-paying client can leave months of completed work sitting unbilled or unpaid while salaries keep running, so we size a revolving line or short-term facility to the peak of that gap and set repayments to land as the fees settle. Bring us the fee pipeline and the billing schedule early, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

Yes. Many lenders assess established practices on 6 to 12 months of bank statements and recent BAS rather than full year-end financials, which suits a firm whose accounts lag the current run rate. It works best where the trading account shows regular fee receipts 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.

Yes. Whether you are staffing up for a signed project, merging in another practice or opening a second studio, we structure the funding around the combined fee pipeline and the goodwill in the book rather than a thin asset base. Expansion is where the structure matters most, so we weigh a term loan against vendor terms and an unsecured line, and place it with a lender that understands how a professional practice is valued. Every figure remains subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

Yes, and it is a commercial property deal rather than a working capital one. A professional practice is usually assessed on both the covenant of the business and the property, so your fee income and the premises are read together, and owner-occupiers can generally borrow a higher proportion than a passive investor would. Getting the trading presented properly is most of the work. Our commercial property team handles these end to end through our architecture practice commercial mortgage service.

Yes. A quarterly BAS, a PAYG obligation or an annual tax bill can be bridged with a short-term facility so a single payment does not draw down the reserve you keep for payroll and distributions. Where you already have an ATO payment plan, disclose it early, because several lenders will still fund a practice that is meeting one. We match the facility to your fee cycle so repayments fall as billed fees come in.

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 office property finance for your architecture practice, we also assist with studio fit-out finance for architects and working capital. On asset finance, that covers studio fit-out finance, workstations, plotters and IT hardware. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and fee-timing funding against your WIP. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing the premises your practice works from.