Business loans for franchises

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 multi-unit franchisee's strength sits in the combined trading of the group and the proven system behind it, yet a generalist bank desk often reads a new store as a startup and a fresh site's slow ramp as weakness. We know the bank and non-bank lenders among our panel of more than sixty that back a franchised operation on its track record and system rather than a single unit's opening month, so you are not approaching each one yourself. As you add units, refurbish to brand standard or acquire an existing store, we stay on to grow the facility with the group. 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 combined trading and can be arranged in days, which suits a limit of $100K to $500K for a fit-out or a new unit's ramp. Secured facilities, backed by property or plant, support larger amounts and make sense once you are funding an acquisition or several units at once. Most multi-unit operators end up with a mix, and we shape which sits where.

It depends on your combined 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 groups. Franchise lending is assessed on the trading across your units and the strength of the system behind you rather than a single store, so the whole group counts. 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 fit-out and equipment are normally the security rather than your property. Retail fit-out finance and point of sale finance can fund a new store or a refit new or used, on terms matched to the life of the asset. Established operators can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials, and it keeps a large capital spend off the overdraft you run the group on.

An unsecured facility can often be approved within 48 hours and funded inside a week where the group 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 a promotional or seasonal peak turns, ideally when you are planning the spend rather than when the stock order is already due. Timeframes are indicative and subject to lender appetite and approval.

Yes, and this is where multi-unit operators most often use us. A greenfield opening needs the initial fee, the fit-out and the ramp funded, while buying an existing franchised store comes with trading you can borrow against from the start. We assess the combined group rather than the new site alone, structure the funding around the type of growth, and can combine it with fit-out and equipment finance. Subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

Yes. Many lenders assess established franchisees on 6 to 12 months of bank statements and recent BAS rather than full year-end financials, which suits a group whose accounts lag the current run rate. It works best where the trading accounts show regular 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. A short-term or unsecured facility can bridge a quarterly BAS, a PAYG obligation or an ATO bill that has landed across several units at once, so the payment does not come out of the cash a new store's ramp relies on. Where trading supports the repayments, a secured term loan can fund an ATO payment plan over a longer period. Disclose any existing arrangement up front, because several lenders will still proceed when it is being met.

Yes, and it is a commercial property deal rather than a working capital one. Owning the site rather than leasing takes a rising rent out of your cost base and builds an asset alongside the business, and owner-occupiers can generally borrow a higher proportion than a passive investor would. Our commercial property team handles these end to end through our retail property finance 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 franchise site, we also assist with fit-out finance for franchisees and working capital. On asset finance, that covers point of sale, retail fit-out and store equipment. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash flow funding across your sites. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing the premises a unit trades from.