Business loans for wineries

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 balance sheet heavy with stock that will not sell for years, set against costs that spike at vintage, is a profile a generalist credit team often reads as thin cover, when the value is really sitting in the maturing wine and the estate. Our part is to know which of the sixty-plus bank and non-bank lenders on our panel fund wine production on those terms, and to present your stock, trading and property so the strength shows, rather than leaving you to approach each desk yourself. That continuity carries through as you add tanks, grow the cellar door or buy the next block. 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 vintage costs or plant. Secured facilities, backed by property, stock or plant, suit larger amounts and make sense once you are funding a bottling line, a big stock hold or an acquisition. Most established producers end up with a mix, and we shape which sits where.

Yes. Many lenders assess established wineries on 6 to 12 months of bank statements and recent BAS rather than full year-end financials, which suits a business whose accounts lag the current vintage. It works best where the trading account shows regular receipts across cellar door, trade and export, 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 the equipment is normally the security rather than the estate. Tanks, presses, refrigeration and a full packaging line can all be funded new or used, and vineyard machinery such as tractors and harvesters goes on farm machinery finance on the same basis. Terms are typically matched to the life of the asset, and established businesses can often be assessed on bank statements and BAS rather than full financials. Bringing bottling in house instead of paying a contract packer often covers the line out of the saving.

By lending against the stock and the trading rather than the timing alone. Vintage costs fall due in a short window while the wine matures for months or years before it earns, so the facility has to carry that lag. We size it to your maturing inventory and your sales calendar, and set repayments to fall as the wine reaches market rather than all at once. Bring us your stock records and vintage plan early, subject to serviceability and lender approval.

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 fruit starts arriving, when you are planning the spend rather than when the bill is already due. Timeframes are indicative and subject to lender appetite and approval.

Yes. Export sales often carry longer overseas payment terms than a domestic order, so the cash can sit out for months after the wine ships. We arrange working capital and trade facilities that carry that gap, so a first container or a bigger export program does not drain the account funding the next vintage. The facility is sized to the orders and the terms your buyers work to, and can sit alongside your existing overdraft.

Often, yes. Where the trading supports the repayments, several lenders will fund an ATO or BAS obligation even while a large part of your value is tied up in maturing stock. An unsecured facility can cover a one-off bill quickly, and a payment plan can usually be refinanced into a term loan where it is disclosed up front. We match the structure to your cash flow so the repayment lands as the wine sells, subject to serviceability and approval.

Yes, and it is a commercial property deal rather than a working capital one. Rural and winery property is usually assessed on the land, the plant and the going concern together rather than the buildings alone, and getting the trading and stock 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 winery commercial mortgage 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 winery or cellar door, we also assist with winemaking and bottling equipment finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers tanks, presses, refrigeration and a full packaging line, along with vineyard machinery. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and stock funding. We also arrange commercial mortgages if you are buying or refinancing the vineyard or winery you operate from.