Business loans for printing and signage companies

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 print operation carries most of its value in presses and work in progress, and its income lands 30 to 60 days after the job ships, which a generalist bank desk often reads as thin cover against lumpy revenue. Our role is to take your debtor ledger and equipment to the lenders among our panel of more than sixty bank and non-bank funders that lend on how a printer actually trades, rather than on the balance sheet alone. We stay on as the business grows, from the next press to a second site. 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 materials, WIP and short-term working capital. Secured facilities, backed by property or plant, are read against the asset as well as trading, which is what makes larger, longer-term funding possible for a press purchase or an acquisition. Most established printers 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 operators. Printers are assessed on the debtor ledger and equipment as much as the balance sheet, so work in progress and account terms are read as part of the picture. 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 equipment is normally the security rather than your premises. Offset and digital presses, wide-format printers, laser cutters, laminators and finishing lines can all be funded new or used. Terms are typically matched to the working life of the machine, and established businesses can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials. Bringing cutting or laminating in house instead of outsourcing often covers the machine out of the saving, and dealer and manufacturer programs are available too, which we compare against a bank facility.

By advancing against the job and the invoice rather than making you carry it out of the account. On a big run or a signage rollout the cash goes out on substrate, ink and labour weeks before the work ships and months before it pays, so the facility carries the gap. We size it to the work in progress and the debtor ledger, and set repayments to land as each job invoices and settles. Bring us the job book and the terms your clients trade on, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

No. Plenty of printers fund growth without touching the family home, either through unsecured facilities assessed on trading, or by securing against the equipment being purchased. Property security is read against the asset as well as trading, so it is worth considering once you are borrowing well into seven figures or buying a press outright. 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 the work lands, ideally when you are quoting the job rather than when the materials bill is already due. Timeframes are indicative and subject to lender appetite and approval.

Yes. Many lenders assess established businesses on 6 to 12 months of bank statements and recent BAS rather than full year-end financials, which suits printers whose accounts lag the current run rate. 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, which also helps when you need to bridge a BAS or PAYG bill.

Yes, and it is a commercial property deal rather than a working capital one. A light industrial print or signage unit is assessed on the property and your trading together, and getting the trading 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 workshop 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 print facility, we also assist with printing and finishing equipment finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers presses, wide-format printers, laser cutters and finishing gear. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash flow funding against your debtor ledger. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing your workshop.