Refinance your bottle shop commercial loan

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 bottle shop the licence is usually the largest thing you own and the one thing not in your accounts, because it came inside the purchase. We put it in front of a valuer properly, get the stock off the property facility where it does not belong, and stay with the file past drawdown. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

We refinance commercial facilities from $50K up to $30M on the property side, with stock and refrigeration funded separately alongside it. The new property limit follows a fresh going concern valuation and current servicing, not what you originally borrowed.

Because appetite on this asset splits hard between a freehold going concern and a business-only position, and one bank will only show you its own side of that. We run the comparison across more than 40 lenders, work out which will fund stock as inventory finance rather than securing it against your building, and present to one at a time so your credit file does not collect an enquiry for every conversation. We also model the break costs, valuation and legals against what moving actually gains you.

60% to 70% of the current value on a freehold going concern, with the banks generally at 60% to 65% and non-banks reaching 70%. That is higher than a pub, because the property underneath is conventional retail rather than a specialised venue. A business and licence position without the building is rarely funded by a bank and sits at 40% to 50% elsewhere.

It is captured inside the going-concern valuation rather than funded separately, which is the reverse of how goodwill is handled in most other trades. Because it arrived as part of the purchase it was never booked as an asset, so the largest single component of what you own does not appear in your accounts. Where new licences are difficult to obtain it has also not depreciated the way the fit-out has. We set the licence and its conditions out explicitly so a valuer and a credit team are both pricing what is actually there.

Usually not, and moving it is one of the more useful things a refinance can do here. Packaged liquor is high volume on thin margins with the money tied up in stock on the floor, and because inventory turns quickly the float is permanent even though no individual bottle is. Banks are selective and tend to want stock secured against the property, which consumes building headroom for something that turns over in weeks. Non-bank inventory and chattel finance funds it on its own terms and leaves the property to carry the long-term debt.

Deliberately, because it is the one part of the fit-out with a hard replacement cycle and it costs more than everything else in the shop combined. Shelving lasts and signage can wait, but refrigeration fails, and when it does the stock behind it is at risk and the store cannot trade properly. A refinance is the natural point to work out where the plant is in its life, whether the finance on it has already run out while the units keep going, and how the replacement gets funded on chattel finance rather than off the property loan.

It helps, because it explains the margin. A credit team looking at thin percentages on high volume wants to understand what holds them up, and buying power under a group agreement is a specific answer rather than a general assurance. What they will also want is the term, the renewal position and what happens to the supply terms if the arrangement ends. We present the agreement alongside the trading figures so each explains the other.

Yes, it is possible, and we arrange these. It is also one of the more intricate refinances in commercial finance, and the detail is what decides whether it works. The distinction to be clear about here is that the fund holds the property while the licence and the trading business sit with your operating entity. From 10 August 2026 a new arrangement can only be used for business real property, and a trading store qualifies. It has to stay the same single property, and it is limited to the balance outstanding plus accrued interest, so there is no top up, no redraw and no cash out inside the fund. That rules out funding stock or refrigeration from the property. Borrowed money cannot fund an improvement either, so a refit comes from the resources of the fund. The holding trust is reassigned to the incoming lender rather than dissolved, which carries a legal cost worth weighing against the gain. The operating entity leases the store back 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. Fund the deposit from the fund itself, since cross-collateralisation is not available in super, the major banks have exited SMSF lending, and lenders want a liquidity buffer left in the fund after settlement. We know this sounds complicated, and we can assist to make things clearer. Reach out to our team and we will guide you through the entire process. We structure the finance, tell you which lenders will take a liquor store 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.

A release against the freehold you already own usually provides the deposit, and the new store is then assessed on its own licence, location and trade rather than on the strength of the first. The part that catches people out is not the deposit, it is the stock: a new store has to be filled before it sells anything, and that opening inventory position is substantial and permanent rather than a one-off establishment cost. Size the property, the fit-out and the stock together rather than finding the stock later.

Often not. On a bottle shop a decline usually traces to one of two things: a lender that only funds a freehold going concern being shown a business-only position, or a valuation that priced the shop without properly accounting for the licence inside it. Both are questions of presentation and of which lender the file sits with. We look at how it was assessed and why the answer was no, then place it where that reason is not the deciding one.

Around three to six weeks with a major bank and two to four weeks with a non-bank lender. A going concern valuation takes longer to commission than a plain retail one, a file that also moves stock and refrigeration finance takes longer again, and SMSF refinances are longer than either. We give you a realistic timeline at the start so you can plan the expiry date around it.

The existing loan statements for the property, the stock line and any equipment finance, the packaged liquor licence with its conditions, two to three years of financial statements and tax returns, stock turn and the peak inventory position across the year, the banner or buying group agreement where there is one, the lease where you hold the business without the building, personal tax returns and notices of assessment for the guarantors, and a statement of assets and liabilities.

The costs are a valuation, legal and settlement fees, any lender establishment fee, discharge costs from each current lender, and break costs where you are leaving a fixed rate. Where stock or equipment lines are moving as well there are further payout figures to obtain. We put the real numbers against the benefit before you commit to anything.

Most of the time, no. Where the licence position needs assembling before the file can go to a lender, or the store is being refinanced alongside a pub, 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. Liquor licensing is state based, which is part of what we check before lodging.

Beyond refinancing the store, we also assist with asset finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers walk-in coldrooms and glass-door refrigeration, shelving and racking, security and CCTV, point of sale and stock control and delivery vehicles. On working capital, we arrange inventory finance and lines of credit sized to the seasonal peak rather than the average month, and we can fold these into the refinance where it makes sense.