Business loans for RTOs and training colleges

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 RTO's income arrives after delivery, part from funding contract milestones and part from fee-for-service students, so a generalist credit desk often reads it as lumpy or contract-dependent and lends against the quiet month. Our work is knowing the bank and non-bank lenders among our panel of more than sixty that fund education providers on the strength of real enrolments and a delivery track record, so you are not putting the case to each one yourself. We stay on well past settlement, growing the facility as you add qualifications, intakes or a second campus. 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 a cohort or an equipment purchase. Secured facilities, backed by property or plant, suit larger amounts and make sense once you are funding a campus purchase or an acquisition. Most established providers 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 providers. RTOs are assessed on funded and fee-for-service revenue, so your enrolment history and funding contracts are read alongside the accounts. 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 or the works are normally the security rather than your premises. Campus fit-out, trade simulators, workshop gear and classroom equipment can all be funded new or used. Terms are typically matched to the life of the asset, and established providers can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials. It keeps a large purchase off the overdraft and turns it into a predictable monthly repayment while your working capital line stays free for delivery.

By sizing the facility to the cost of delivering the cohort and setting repayments to land as the milestone and completion claims are paid. Funded delivery pays in arrears, so the wages, materials and campus costs run for months before the contract and fee instalments catch up. We read your enrolment pipeline and claim schedule, then structure a line that carries the delivery period. Bring us the intake plan early, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

Yes. Many lenders assess established RTOs on 6 to 12 months of bank statements and recent BAS rather than full year-end financials, which suits providers whose accounts lag the current enrolment run rate. It works best where the trading account shows regular funding claims and fee 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 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 intake starts, ideally when you are planning the cohort rather than when the wage run 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 campus is generally assessed as commercial office and training space, so your trading performance and the premises are read together, and getting the enrolment and funding income 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 college commercial mortgage service.

Yes. IT hardware finance covers servers, laptops, classroom technology and the hardware behind a learning management system, secured against the equipment itself. Terms are matched to the working life of the gear, and established providers can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS. It keeps a technology refresh off your working capital line and turns it into a fixed monthly repayment you can budget around across the enrolment cycle.

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 training premises, we also assist with training equipment and IT finance for RTOs and working capital. On asset finance, that covers training equipment, simulators, IT hardware and campus fit-out. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cohort delivery funding. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing the campus you operate from.