Retail property loans

Yes, and more often than retailers expect. A lender can advance up to 100% of the purchase price where you add security you already own, usually your home or another commercial property, letting you buy without a cash deposit. We map your security position first, so talk to us.

Retail owner-occupier finance is a commercial mortgage used to buy the premises a retail business trades from, from shopfronts and strata units to showrooms and retail strips. LVR and terms depend on the property type, your entity structure and how the premises will be used. Ardent Capital Group is a Sydney-based finance brokerage helping retailers buy their premises across Australia.

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. When you buy the shop you trade from, the loan is built to reflect that the property is both your workplace and an asset on your books, and we take it to lenders who value owner-occupied retail rather than pricing it like a passive investment. Well past settlement we stay on, ready when you expand, refinance or add to the portfolio. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

Going direct to your bank means one set of lending criteria and one answer. retail owner-occupier property is a specialist asset class, and not every lender has strong appetite for it. Banks assess retail lending conservatively, and the same business and property can get very different outcomes depending on which lender assesses it and how the application is structured. A specialist broker knows which lenders are actively writing this type of deal right now, how to present the submission correctly, and which ones to avoid. You get the lenders that suit it, rather than shopping it around lender by lender, rather than working through a list and collecting unnecessary declines.

Standard commercial security like a retail shop typically gears to 75% to 80% of the property value. Strata retail is assessed on the same basis, tightening where the body corporate carries debt. Your location, tenancy strength and trading history all shape the final number, so talk to us.

For a straightforward owner-occupier purchase, most clients receive indicative credit terms within 48 hours of our first conversation. Formal approval typically follows within one to two weeks. Strata, trust structures and SMSF lending take longer. We will give you a clear timeline upfront so your purchase schedule stays intact.

For a full-doc application, most lenders require two to three years of business financial statements and tax returns, personal tax returns for all guarantors, and a copy of the contract of sale or expression of interest. That said, many enquiries come from self-employed owners who 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. These products typically carry slightly higher rates but open the door for borrowers whose paperwork understates income. We work through your income situation upfront and identify whether full-doc, alt-doc or low-doc is the right fit for you.

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 premises 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 shop trading wholly as a business qualifies, and it does not matter whether you or a tenant runs it. A shop with a flat above it on the same title generally does not, which catches a lot of the shop-top strip retail on the market. Your operating company leases the premises back from the fund, in writing, at market rent supported by an independent appraisal, and the rent has to actually be paid. Cross-collateralisation is not available inside super, so the fund needs its own deposit and the 100% LVR structures described elsewhere on this page do not work here. Lenders cap SMSF lending below a standard purchase, generally between 65% and 80%, 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 retail premises 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 necessarily mean the deal is not fundable. Banks have rigid credit policies, and retail owner-occupier property does not always fit neatly within them. Non-bank lenders assess deals differently, and sometimes a structuring or presentation issue is all that stood between you and an approval. We will give you an honest assessment of what is possible before proceeding.

Freestanding retail, a standalone building on its own title, is generally viewed more favourably by lenders because the borrower controls the whole asset. Strata retail involves owning one lot within a larger building, which means shared common areas, a body corporate and dependency on the broader building's occupancy. Lenders assess strata retail more conservatively, particularly in buildings with high vacancy or poorly managed body corporates. Both are financeable. The approach and the lender choice differ.

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 deal 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 retail premises are located, we can arrange your finance.

Although our main speciality is property loans for business owners, we also assist with retail fit-out finance and working capital for retailers. On asset finance, that covers shopfit and joinery, refrigeration and display equipment, point-of-sale systems, and delivery vehicles. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to cover stock, seasonal trade and supplier payments.

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 retail business 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.