Land acquisition 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 site purchase that means planning the construction facility before the land facility is written, because a land loan taken from the wrong lender can leave you refinancing the whole site before you can start building.

It is a facility used to buy a development site. It is secured against the land itself, which produces no income and carries no building, so it is assessed on the planning status of the site, the value of the land and how the facility will be repaid. It is also called site acquisition finance.

More than on a completed commercial property, and the exact figure moves with planning status. An approved site supports the highest advance, a site without an application supports less, and raw land held for a future rezoning supports the least. Send us the contract and the zoning and we will tell you the contribution the panel will actually require.

Yes, and many developers do, because that is where the margin usually sits. The site is valued on its current use and zoning rather than on the scheme you intend to build, so you contribute more and the term is shorter. Town planning advice showing a credible pathway makes a material difference to the file.

It is funding to hold raw or undeveloped land over a longer period, usually ahead of a rezoning, an infrastructure release or a change in planning controls. Because the land earns nothing while it is held, these facilities are assessed on the underlying land value and on how the interest will be paid, and they carry the lowest advance of any land position.

It means the development approval has been granted and a construction certificate has issued, so work can physically start. It changes the finance considerably. A shovel ready site is the strongest land position there is, and the construction facility can usually be approved at the same time as the purchase rather than as a separate application later.

Not always, and that is the sequencing question worth answering before you sign the land facility. Some lenders will fund the site and the build in one relationship. Others will fund land and have no construction appetite at all, which leaves you refinancing the site before you can start. We plan the pair together from the outset.

Commonly yes. Land produces no income, so servicing a land facility monthly out of your own cash flow is often the wrong structure. Capitalised interest is added to the facility and repaid when the site refinances to construction or sells, which keeps your cash available for consultants and approval costs.

Yes, where there is equity in the site to support it. Town planners, architects, engineers, surveyors, specialist consultants and the application fees can be funded within the land facility and drawn against invoices as they fall due, rather than paid out of working capital.

No. A site bought for its development potential with existing improvements on it is a normal development purchase, and the valuer reports it as a development site rather than as a house. Where the existing building can be rented while approval is pursued, that income can help service the facility.

Usually yes. Development sites often sell unconditionally on thirty day terms and we can arrange these. Where the date cannot be met on the standard panel, a private facility settles the purchase and we refinance it onto cheaper debt once the site is secured. Talk to us before you bid, not after.

Yes, and it is often a stronger application than the original purchase was, because the planning position has usually moved on since you bought. A site that now carries an approval it did not have at purchase is a materially different asset. Refinancing releases capital and lowers the holding cost through to construction.

The contract of sale or the title if you already own it, the zoning and any planning controls that apply, the development approval or the planning advice if there is no consent yet, your feasibility, and details of your development experience. We can give you an indicative position from the contract and the zoning alone.

Most of the time, no. Where a purchase 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 site 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 a development business runs, from excavators and site utilities to survey equipment and work vehicles. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to carry a site through the approval process, to cover rates and holding costs, and to pay consultants.

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 site purchase is a very common starting point, so it is well within our wheelhouse. We will walk you through what the site will value at, what contribution you genuinely need and how the construction facility has to follow, 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.