Optometry practice property finance

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. The premises is owner-occupied healthcare property, a consulting and retail space held by an established professional practice, and the case goes to a financier comfortable with exactly that. As you grow the practice or add a second location, our partnership carries on. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

Going direct to your bank means one set of lending criteria and one answer. An optometry practice is a retail-clinical hybrid, and not every lender is comfortable valuing a shop that is part testing lane and part dispensary. A specialist broker knows which lenders read optical practices correctly, how they treat strata and shopping-centre tenancies, and how to present your trading figures so the deal is approved. You get the right lenders for your situation, so you are not enquiring lender by lender, rather than working through a list and collecting unnecessary declines.

Owner-occupier optometrists can typically borrow up to 65% to 70%, reflecting the retail-clinical valuation lenders use for optical premises; an investment purchase sits a little lower. Where a lender recognises your profession it can fund up to 100% without your home as security. Inside an SMSF, lenders cap at 65% to 75%. Talk to us for your number.

Both matter more than most borrowers expect. On the property side, a strata shop in a shopping centre is assessed on the centre's lease terms, turnover-rent clauses and foot traffic, while a freehold shopfront on a strong strip is usually read as a more stable asset. On the business side, a banner-group or franchise agreement can add stability through brand and buying power, but lenders check the term, territory and exit clauses to see what happens to the loan if the arrangement ends. An independent practice is assessed purely on its own trading history and goodwill. We present the lease and any agreement so both read as a strength.

Optometry premises are valued on a retail-clinical basis, a blend of the retail location and the clinical fit-out. Valuers weigh the position, foot traffic, tenancy mix and lease terms heavily, because for a shop the location is much of the asset. The testing-lane fit-out and dispensary are recognised but a conservative valuer discounts non-transferable improvements. This is why the LVR sits around 65% to 70% rather than the higher bands recognised medical professions attract on standard commercial premises.

For a straightforward owner-occupier purchase, most clients receive indicative credit terms within 48 hours of our first conversation. Formal approval usually follows within one to two weeks, and settlement typically runs three to six weeks with a bank or two to four weeks with a non-bank lender. Strata purchases, SMSF lending and shopping-centre tenancies take longer because there are more records to assess. We give you a realistic timeline upfront so your purchase schedule stays intact.

For a full-doc application, most lenders require two to three years of practice financial statements and tax returns, personal tax returns for all guarantors, and a copy of the contract of sale or the lease if the shop is strata. If the borrower is a company or trust, the constitution or deed and associated financials are also needed. Many practice owners, particularly those who are self-employed or trade under a banner-group agreement, do not fit neatly into a standard full-doc assessment. Non-bank lenders offer alt-doc and low-doc options where income can be evidenced through an accountant's declaration, BAS statements or bank statements rather than full financials. These come with slightly higher rates but open the door for borrowers whose paperwork understates income. We work through your income situation upfront and identify whether a full-doc, alt-doc or low-doc approach is the right fit for you.

Owner-occupier finance is used when your own practice trades from the shop. Lenders assess your retail-clinical trading figures alongside the property and offer LVRs up to 65% to 70%. Investment finance is used when you buy an optical premises to lease to another optometrist. Lenders focus on the rental income, lease terms and tenant quality, the LVR usually sits a little lower, and a short lease or vacancy can be harder to finance. If you occupy part of a site and lease the rest, we split the presentation so each portion is assessed on its own terms.

Yes, it is possible, and we arrange these. It is also one of the more intricate purchases in commercial finance, and the detail is what decides whether it works. The fund borrows under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, so the practice sits in a separate holding trust and the lender can only come after that one property. From 10 August 2026 a new arrangement can only be used for business real property: a property trading wholly as a business generally qualifies, a property with a residence attached generally does not. Your practice leases the practice back from the fund, in writing, at market rent supported by an independent appraisal, and the rent has to actually be paid. SMSF lending caps well below a standard purchase, so the fund provides its own deposit and the full-price funding available outside super does not apply here. Cross-collateralisation is not available inside super either. Lenders cap SMSF lending below a standard purchase, generally between 65% and 75%, and want cash left in the fund after settlement. We know this sounds complicated. It is, and that is exactly why we do it every day. Reach out to our team and we will guide you through the entire process. We structure the finance, tell you which lenders will take an optometry practice as SMSF security and on what terms, and bring in the SMSF specialists and licensed advisers who set the fund side up. You will not be working it out on your own. Get that right and it is a solid, compliant structure.

Often, yes. A decline from your bank does not mean the purchase is not fundable. Banks apply rigid credit policies, and a retail-clinical asset like an optical shop, especially a small strata lot or a shopping-centre tenancy, does not always fit within them. Non-bank lenders assess these sites differently, and sometimes a structuring or presentation issue is all that stood between you and an approval. We give you an honest assessment of what is possible before proceeding.

Most of the time, no. We are paid a commission by the lender once your loan settles, so there is no cost to you. Where your financials are complex, your structure is unusual, or the purchase requires significant preparation before it can go to a lender, we may charge a small mandate fee depending on the complexity. 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 optometry practice premises are located, we can arrange your finance.

Although our main speciality is property loans for business owners, we also assist with optical equipment finance and cash flow for optometrists. On asset finance, that covers optical equipment and fit-out such as OCT, auto-refractors, phoropters and slit lamps, an edging lab, the shopfit and POS systems. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to cover frame and lens stock, seasonal retail swings and staff wages.

Yes. That is our core ethos, helping you understand the right strategy, structure and clear advice from the very first conversation. Our main borrower profiles are established optometrists and practice owners seeking finance from $100,000 upwards for their company, so a first commercial loan is well within our wheelhouse. Smaller sole-trader and consumer-style ABN lending sits outside our field.