Refinance your tenanted commercial property

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 leased investment refinance the work is in the lease. It sets the term, the rent has moved through its reviews, and the cover ratio has to be recomputed on both. We read it properly, put the file where that reading lands best, and stay with it past drawdown. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

We refinance commercial facilities from $50K up to $30M, whether that is one leased asset you want repriced or a portfolio held across several lenders. The new limit is set by the current valuation, the passing rent and the cover ratio, not by what you originally borrowed.

Because your bank can only tell you what your bank will do, and on a leased asset the cover ratio it applies decides your ceiling. We do the legwork: we run the comparison across more than 40 lenders, work out which test and which term suit your lease, 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, and if it does not stack up we will tell you that.

A lease doc facility reaches up to 75% for loans under $3 million, and adding your own income on a full doc assessment can reach 80% on standard commercial security. Which one binds is usually the cover ratio rather than the LVR, because on a leased asset the rent sizes the loan.

It drives the term more than anything else. Some lenders align the loan term to the weighted average unexpired lease term, and a lease doc term commonly runs to five years or lease expiry, whichever is shorter. The practical effect is that the term available shrinks as the lease runs down, so refinancing shortly after a renewal or an exercised option gives you the longest term that asset will support.

Yes, and it is often the largest thing that has moved. The cover ratio is the margin between the rent and the interest, so a passing rent lifted by fixed or CPI reviews is put back through that test at a refinance. The maximum LVR works out as the yield divided by the cover ratio times the rate, so a higher passing rent on the same valuation supports more than it did at settlement.

Yes, where the current valuation and the cover ratio support it. Cash out on a commercial refinance is assessed on the purpose of the funds, so the lender wants to know what it is for. A deposit on the next asset, a fitout contribution to secure an incoming tenant, or a capital works program are all ordinary purposes. We evidence the purpose properly at the outset.

Yes, though a narrower group of lenders will look at it and the assessment is different without a passing rent to test. Where a new lease is signed but has not commenced, a heads of agreement or the executed lease carries real weight. We tell you which position you are in and which lenders will take it before anything is lodged, so nothing is discovered halfway through.

It buys term and a cleaner approval rather than gearing. The cover ratio is calculated on the rent, so a strong covenant does not lift the ratio by itself. What it does is support a longer loan term and open lenders that are selective about who is in occupation, and on a refinance that certainty is worth a great deal.

Often not. On a leased asset a decline usually traces to the cover ratio test that particular lender applies, and those differ enough that the same property produces a materially different maximum elsewhere. We look at which test was applied and why the answer was no, then place the file with a lender whose test the asset actually meets.

Often yes, and it is one of the more useful things a refinance does for an investor. Where two or three properties are tied together, releasing them onto their own facilities means each can be sold or refinanced later without disturbing the rest. It depends on the individual gearing each asset can carry on its own, which we model before anything is lodged.

Four to six weeks from application to settlement for a straightforward file. A multi-tenanted complex takes longer because every lease has to be reviewed, and portfolio consolidations and SMSF refinances take longer again. We give you a realistic timeline at the start so you can plan around your expiry date.

The existing loan statements, every lease and any variations, the rental statements and the current rent roll, outgoings and the most recent rates notices, personal tax returns and notices of assessment where the file is full doc, and a statement of assets and liabilities. For a portfolio we need that set per property. We work through the list with you at the start rather than asking for things one at a time.

The costs are a valuation, legal and settlement fees, any lender establishment fee, discharge costs from your current lender, and break costs where you are leaving a fixed rate. Break costs are an economic cost, so they are calculated on the day and vary with how much fixed term is left. Where several properties are being discharged there are several sets of those, so we put the real numbers against the benefit before you commit.

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. From 10 August 2026 a new arrangement can only be used for business real property, and a commercial property let wholly to a business qualifies whether the tenant is related to you or not. 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. The holding trust is reassigned to the incoming lender rather than dissolved, which carries a legal cost worth weighing against the gain. Where the tenant is related to you it leases 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 a fund holding two properties holds two separate arrangements. SMSF lending on standard commercial security generally runs between 65% and 80%, 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 leased commercial property 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.

Most of the time, no. Where a refinance 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 investment is located, we can arrange your finance.

Beyond refinancing the asset, we also assist with asset finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers plant and equipment for a business you also run, vehicles and fitout items. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding, including a line of credit against equity you already hold to move quickly on the next acquisition, and we can fold these into the refinance where it makes sense.

Yes, and it describes a great many investors we speak to. The facility is set up at settlement and then simply runs, while the lease behind it quietly shortens and the rent quietly rises. 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 business owners and commercial property investors with facilities from $50,000 upwards. We will start by telling you where your lease sits, what the passing rent now supports, what sits on your current facility, what moving costs, and whether it is worth making. If it is not, we will say so and you can stay where you are.