Development exit finance and property development loans

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. On a development exit the timing is the whole file. We work back from the expiry date on your construction facility rather than forward from the application, and we talk to your outgoing lender early so the payout figure and discharge are ready on the day.

It is a short term facility that repays a construction loan once the project is finished or close to finished. It is used when the construction facility is expiring before the stock has sold or the building has leased. The exit is the sale of the completed project, or a refinance onto longer term debt.

Timing and titles. Development exit finance is available from practical completion and can be arranged before the titles register, which is the point most projects reach trouble. Residual stock finance is secured against completed dwellings that already have their own titles. Many projects use a development exit facility first and move to a residual stock facility once registration comes through.

Bridging finance covers a general gap between two positions, such as buying before selling or settling at auction. Development exit finance is specific to a construction facility on a completed or nearly completed project, and it is assessed on the finished building and the sales or leasing campaign behind it. We arrange both, and which one suits depends on what is being repaid.

Often yes. Practical completion is the usual earliest point, where the builder is off site and the works are substantially finished. Some lenders will settle at that stage with the occupation certificate as a condition to follow. Major banks generally want the certificate issued first, which is one of the main reasons these files go to the non-bank panel.

Refinancing is usually the cleanest one, and it is what this facility is for. A declined extension is a common trigger and it does not count against the new application, because the incoming lender is assessing a finished building rather than the reasons the build took longer than planned. Speak to us as soon as the extension is declined so there is time to settle before the expiry.

On the non-bank and private panel, commonly two to five weeks from a complete application, and faster where the valuation is current and the outgoing lender is cooperative. Major banks generally run four to eight weeks. The binding constraint is usually the valuation and the discharge, not the credit decision.

It is sized against the gross realisable value of the completed project, net of GST, and against what the project has cost. Lenders write to a share of each and lend the lesser of the two. Major banks reach up to 65% of gross realisable value and non-bank lenders up to 70%. Send us the payout figure and the sales schedule and we will confirm what the panel will actually do.

Yes, where a quantity surveyor can report a cost to complete. The facility is written to repay the existing debt and to fund the remaining works, with the works drawn progressively as they are certified. That is common where a project has run over budget on its final stage.

Yes, where the completed value supports a facility above the payout figure. Developers commonly use that release as the deposit on the next site, which is how a pipeline keeps moving without waiting for the last dwelling to settle.

Yes. Completed office, retail, industrial and mixed use buildings are funded on the same basis. Where leases are signed, the rent supports the facility and the building can often move straight to a term investment loan. Where the space is still being leased, the exit facility carries the project through that campaign.

The current facility details and its expiry date, the payout figure, the quantity surveyor reports to date, the occupation certificate or evidence of practical completion, the sales or leasing schedule, and any recent valuation. We can give you an indicative position from the facility details and the sales schedule alone.

Not usually, and often less. A construction facility prices the risk that the building does not get finished. Once it is finished that risk has gone, and the completed asset opens a wider lender panel than a part built one. Where the original facility was private and short term, the refinance is normally a material reduction in holding cost.

That is a normal part of the picture and we size the facility on the stock actually held rather than on the contracts on foot. A dwelling that comes back into the unsold line is treated as stock to be resold. It does not put the facility out of order, and it is one of the reasons having the exit arranged early matters.

Most of the time, no. Where a facility requires significant preparation due to its complexity, a small mandate fee may apply, and 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 project is located, we can arrange your finance.

Although our main speciality is property loans for business owners, we also assist with asset finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers the plant and vehicles a development business runs, from site utilities and excavators to fit-out equipment and work vehicles. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to carry holding costs through a sales campaign, to cover rates and levies, and to fund consultants ahead of the next project.

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 developers and commercial property owners seeking finance from $50,000 upwards, and a first development exit usually comes at the end of a first completed project, so it is well within our wheelhouse. We will walk you through what your project will value at now it is built, what term is realistic and how the payout is coordinated, before you commit to anything.

No. Arranging finance and advising on financial products are two different disciplines, and we do the first. What we bring is the credit analysis lenders require, the structuring of the facility, and the strategy for putting your application in front of lenders whose appetite matches it.

Because we act as a credit representative under an Australian Credit Licence, we do not give financial product, superannuation, taxation or legal advice, and nothing we provide should be taken as such. Where your circumstances need that input, we are happy to work with your accountant, financial adviser and solicitor to understand the full picture before anything is submitted.

The information on this page is general in nature and does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.