Business loans for financial planning 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 main asset is an intangible client register and whose income arrives as recurring advice fees is a profile a generalist credit desk often undervalues, reaching for hard security that is not there. Our role is to know the bank and non-bank lenders, across a panel of more than sixty, that lend on the recurring revenue and the retention of the book rather than the bricks. We stay on as you acquire the next book, bring on advisers or buy your premises. 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 your recurring income and can be arranged in days, which suits a limit of $100K to $500K for technology, a fit-out or a smaller book. Secured facilities, backed by property, support larger amounts and generally price lower, and make sense once you are funding a sizeable client-book acquisition. Most established practices end up with a mix, and we shape which sits where.

It depends on your recurring revenue, your structure and the purpose, but lending here commonly runs from $100K to well into seven figures, and our range extends to $100M. A client book is valued as a multiple of its recurring revenue, so a facility to buy one is read against the income and retention of the register rather than hard assets. The binding constraint is usually serviceability, and we shape the funding early so you know your number before you commit.

Yes, and the fit-out or equipment is normally the security rather than property. Office fit-out finance covers the space, and IT hardware, servers and advice software can be funded new or used on terms matched to the life of the asset. Established firms can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials, which keeps a technology refresh off your working capital line and free for a book purchase.

Yes, and this is the funding we arrange most for advice practices. A book of ongoing-advice clients is priced on a multiple of its recurring revenue, so we structure the facility around the income it produces and set repayments against it, with any clawback or transition period built in. Depending on the size, the deal can be unsecured on recurring revenue, secured against property, or a blend of the two. Bring us the recurring-revenue figures and the retention profile early, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

No. Plenty of practices fund growth without touching the family home, either through unsecured facilities assessed on recurring revenue or by securing against the fit-out and equipment being purchased. Property security does support a larger facility and generally prices lower than an unsecured equivalent, so it is worth considering once you are funding a substantial book acquisition. 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 practice 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 are planning a book purchase or a fit-out rather than when the outlay is already due. Timeframes are indicative and subject to lender appetite and approval.

Yes, and it is a commercial property deal rather than a working capital one. An advice practice is a clean owner-occupier profile, so your trading and the property are read together, and owner-occupiers can generally borrow a higher proportion than a passive investor would. Owning the premises takes a rising rent out of the cost base and builds an asset alongside the practice. Our commercial property team handles these end to end through our professional services office commercial mortgage service.

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 firms whose accounts lag the current run rate. It works best where the trading account shows regular recurring 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.

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 an office property loan for your planning firm, we also assist with office fit-out finance for planning firms and working capital. On asset finance, that covers office fit-out finance, IT hardware and technology. 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 the office your practice operates from.