Business loans for commercial landscaping contractors

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. For a landscaping contractor, where retentions and progress claims can read conservatively, that means a facility sized to your claim cycle and forward order book rather than property alone, taken to the lenders among our panel who understand contracting income. We stay with you as the crews and contracts grow. 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 opened ahead of a contract mobilisation. Secured facilities, backed by property or plant, support larger amounts and price better, and make sense once you are funding a full season of work. Most established contractors end up with a mix, and we shape which sits where.

Yes, and the plant itself is normally the security rather than your home. Skid steers, mini excavators, tippers, mulchers, turf equipment and trailers can all be funded, with the term matched to the working life of the machine, commonly three to five years. Established businesses can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials. Funding the plant separately keeps your working capital line free for materials and wages.

This is the most common reason landscaping contractors come to us. You buy plants, turf, soil, mulch and irrigation up front and pay your crews weekly, then wait 30 to 60 days on a claim against a head contractor or council. A revolving line of credit or overdraft sits over your trading account and covers that window, with interest charged only on the drawn balance rather than the full limit. We size the limit to your claim cycle and your largest concurrent contracts, not to a single month of turnover.

Yes, in the right circumstances. Retentions of around 5 per cent held for a 12 month defects liability period can tie up a meaningful share of a year's margin, and that money is earned but not available. Some lenders will lend against certified claims and the retention balance where the head contractor is strong and your completion record is clean. It works best as part of a broader facility rather than on its own, and it is assessed on the quality of who owes you the money.

No. Plenty of contractors fund growth without touching the family home, either through unsecured facilities assessed on trading, or by securing against the plant being purchased. Property security widens the range of lenders and structures open to you, so it is worth considering once you are borrowing well into seven figures. 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 you need it, ideally when you win the contract rather than when the first claim is late. Timeframes are indicative and subject to lender appetite and approval.

Yes. Many lenders assess contracting businesses 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 run rate. It works best where the trading account shows regular contract 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, and it is a commercial property deal rather than a working capital one. A contractor's yard with hardstand, sheds and plant storage is assessed as a light industrial site, and owner-occupiers can often borrow a higher proportion of the purchase price than an investor would. Owning the yard also takes a rising rent out of your cost base and builds an asset alongside the business. Our commercial property team handles these end to end through our light industrial and workshop property finance service.

Yes, and stepping up is exactly where funding tends to bind. A larger contract means more plant on the ground, a bigger crew and a longer wait on the first claim, all before a dollar arrives. We look at your order book and the strength of the principal rather than last year's turnover alone, which is what lets a facility grow ahead of the revenue. Bring us the contract early and we will structure around the mobilisation, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

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 landscaping yard, we also assist with skid steer and landscaping equipment finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers plant, machinery and commercial vehicles. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing a yard or premises.