Business loans for marketing agencies

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. An agency's value sits in its retainers, its people and its pipeline rather than plant a bank can secure against, so a generalist credit desk often reads labour-heavy, asset-light books conservatively and misprices the media float running through them. Our role is to know which of the 60 plus bank and non-bank lenders back service businesses on the strength of their contracts and recurring income, so you are not testing that appetite one desk at a time. From your first media-buying line to funding the acquisition that doubles the team, we stay with the same agency as it grows. 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 media float or a working capital limit of $100K to $500K. Secured facilities, backed by property or a director's home, can support larger amounts, and make sense once you are funding an acquisition. Most established agencies 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 groups. Because an agency is asset-light, the assessment leans on your retainers, debtor ledger and profit rather than security, so getting the recurring income presented properly is most of the work. The binding constraint is usually serviceability, and we shape the funding early so you know your number before you commit.

Yes, and the asset is normally the security rather than your home. Studio fit-out, workstations, cameras and production gear can all be funded new or used, and a full floor can go on one facility. For servers, screens and laptops we arrange IT hardware finance on the same basis. Terms are typically matched to the life of the asset, and established agencies can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials, which keeps the purchase off your working capital line.

With working capital sized to your live media commitments and debtor terms, usually a revolving line or a receivables facility. You draw as you commit to the spend and repay as the client settles, with interest charged only on the drawn balance. It suits performance and media-buying agencies whose ad spend runs weeks ahead of the invoice, and we size it to the peak of the commitment rather than an average month. Bring us your debtor days and the campaigns you are scaling, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

Yes. Many lenders assess established agencies on 6 to 12 months of bank statements and recent BAS rather than full year-end financials, which suits businesses whose accounts lag a fast growth year. It works best where the trading account shows regular retainer 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.

An unsecured facility can often be approved within 48 hours and funded inside a week where the agency 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 sign the account, ideally when you are pitching rather than when payroll for the new team 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. A professional services office is assessed on the property and your covenant as tenant, and getting the trading presented properly still does much 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 office commercial mortgage service.

Yes. Buying a competitor for its client book or merging in a specialist team is one of the most common reasons agencies come to us, and these deals turn on future earnings and retained clients rather than hard assets. We fund the purchase against the combined trading of the two businesses and stage the facility so it carries the transition while the acquired revenue beds in. Earn-outs and vendor terms can be built into the structure, subject to serviceability, lender appetite and 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 an office property loan for your agency, we also assist with studio fit-out finance for agencies and working capital. On asset finance, that covers studio fit-out finance, workstations, cameras and IT hardware. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit, media-buying float and cash flow funding. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing the office your agency works from.