Business loans for horticulture growers

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 grower's income lands in a compressed harvest window and swings with yield, weather and grade, so a generalist bank desk often reads the quiet months as weakness rather than the shape of the season. Our job is to know the bank and non-bank lenders, more than sixty across our panel, that fund primary producers and read the trading behind the land rather than the dirt alone. We stay on as you plant new lines, add hectares and expand cool storage, growing the facility with the operation. 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, labour or a tax bill. Secured facilities, backed by land or plant, support larger amounts and price better, and make sense once you are funding cool storage, an acquisition or a new block. Most established growers 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. Growers are commonly assessed on the season and the trading behind the land, not the quietest month, 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 is normally the security rather than the land. Farm machinery finance covers tractors, harvesters, irrigation, pumps and refrigerated packing, new or used, and can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials for established growers. Terms are typically matched to the working life of the asset, and dealer and manufacturer programs are available too, which we compare against a bank facility.

By opening a facility sized to the run in to harvest, so the inputs, the pickers and the packaging are covered while the crop is still in the ground. A revolving line lets you draw as costs fall due and repay as harvest income lands, and the practical advice is to open it when you are planning the season rather than when the bill is already due. We size to the peak of the season, not an average month, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

No. Plenty of growers fund a season without touching the farm or the family home, either through unsecured facilities assessed on trading, or by securing against the equipment being purchased. Property security does support a larger amount and a better rate, so it is worth considering once you are borrowing well into seven figures or funding cool storage and expansion. The choice is yours, and we will show you what each option costs before you commit.

Yes. Many lenders assess established growers 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 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, and it is a commercial property deal rather than a working capital one. Growing operations are often assessed with the trading read alongside the land rather than the dirt alone, and getting the season 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 growing property commercial mortgage service.

Yes, and income that lands in one compressed window rather than evenly across the year is normal for horticulture rather than a problem, as long as the facility is built for it. The mistake is sizing a limit to an average month, which leaves you short through the run in to harvest. We size to the peak of the season and structure repayments to fall when harvest income actually arrives. Lenders that fund primary producers expect the pattern and price it accordingly.

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 growing operation, we also assist with growing and harvesting equipment finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers tractors, harvesters, irrigation and cool storage through tractor finance and machinery facilities. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and seasonal cash flow funding. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing the growing land you operate from.