Case Study: Financing a Commercial Property Purchase Leased to Nando's
A commercial property investor operating through multiple trusts was buying a premises leased to Nando's. The real work was not finding a loan, it was finding the right one. Here is how Ardent Capital Group structured the finance around the client's situation.
Summary
- Client: a commercial property investor, holding the investment through multiple trusts.
- Goal: buy a commercial property leased to Nando's, with Nando's as the tenant.
- The challenge: a complex multi-trust structure and the annual-review requirement most commercial lenders impose.
- What Ardent did: sourced a 30-year term with no annual review, funded against the commercial security in isolation.
- Why it mattered: it removed the yearly serviceability re-test that can put a geared investor at risk if income dips.
Buying a commercial property leased to a national brand is a considered investment, and holding it through a layered trust structure adds complexity to the finance. Ardent Capital Group recently worked with an investor buying a premises leased to Nando's. The real work was not finding a loan, it was finding the right one and structuring it around an investment held through multiple trusts.
The situation
The client is a commercial property investor buying a premises leased to Nando's, holding the investment through a layered structure of several trusts. On an investment purchase like this, a lender values the property on its yield and rental income and the strength of the tenant's lease, rather than on how quickly it could be sold. Nando's is a strong, recognised national tenant, and that covenant supported a healthy loan-to-value ratio in the 70 to 75 per cent range for this purchase. The figures here are specific to this deal and subject to lender assessment.
We arrange this kind of fast-food premises finance regularly, and the pattern is consistent: the finance has to be built around how the investment is owned and how the rental income is earned.
The challenge: complex ownership and the annual-review trap
Two things made this more than a standard application.
First, the multi-trust structure. When an investment is held across several trusts and holding entities, a lender needs a clear view of the ultimate beneficial ownership, that is, who actually controls and owns the layered entities, before it can assess the deal properly. Getting that view right is what turns a complicated structure into a clean, assessable application.
Second, and more important, the annual review. Many commercial lenders require an annual review, where the borrower resubmits tax returns each year and the lender re-tests serviceability. For an investor holding assets through multiple trusts, that is a heavy administrative burden every single year. It also carries a real risk. Income can move year to year, and a single soft year could see a borrower fail the annual serviceability test, which can force a lender to demand a debt paydown or a refinance precisely when cash flow is tightest. Removing that exposure was central to protecting the client.
How Ardent structured the finance
The objective was clear: a competitive rate and a long term, without an annual review hanging over the client every year. We took the client's strong position to a lender able to offer a 30-year term with no annual review requirement, so the facility is assessed properly once, up front, rather than re-litigated each year.
We also stood the purchase on the commercial security in isolation. By funding it against the commercial property alone, we avoided tying the client's other assets into the facility and kept the application efficient and contained. For an investor with a complex, multi-entity profile, isolating the deal, rather than relying on group servicing across every trust, was the cleaner path to approval.
There is no single formula for a purchase like this. The result came from reading the specific acquisition profile, mapping the ownership accurately, and matching it to a lender whose policy actually fitted, which is the core of what a commercial property finance broker does.
Structure and repayment: keeping a clear plan
Shorter-term, interest-only options can price more competitively than a standard 15-year principal-and-interest commercial loan, and there can be sound reasons for an investor to use them. Interest only is not a strategy on its own, though. The point Ardent makes with clients is simple: whichever repayment type you use, there has to be a clear plan to bring the debt down over time, and any cash-flow benefit should be reinvested or held against the debt, not absorbed into day-to-day spending. That is how the finance supports the investment rather than quietly working against it.
Coordinating with the client's accountant
Structure and tax questions in a multi-trust purchase sit with the client's accountant. Ardent's role is to orchestrate the finance strategy and put the numbers and the lender options in front of the client, who then confirms the tax and ownership detail with their accountant before anything is locked in. Where it helps, Ardent works directly with the accountant so the finance and the tax structure move in step, which keeps friction and time lags out of the deal. We are deliberate about that line. A broker who oversteps into tax advice does the client no favours.
Why a specialist made the difference
A standard broker secures funding. The value here was in the thinking around it: spotting the annual-review risk before it became a problem, isolating the security to keep the deal clean, and reading a layered ownership structure accurately. Ardent brings both a quantitative and a qualitative view to a deal, the servicing and the numbers, and the judgement about which lender and structure will hold up over the life of the loan. On a purchase like this, that is the difference between a loan that is arranged and one that is arranged well.
If you are buying a commercial property leased to a national brand or hospitality tenant, our hospitality property finance team can talk it through. As a commercial mortgage broker in Sydney working with investors across Australia, Ardent Capital Group structures this kind of purchase around your situation. Every deal is different, and finance is subject to lender assessment, valuation and policy.
Disclaimer: Ardent Capital Group is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nando's. This case study is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice, and figures are specific to this deal and subject to lender assessment.
Written by
Nick Chong
Managing Director, M.AppFin, Dip. Mortgage Mgmt
Nick holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics, a Master of Applied Finance and an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning. He founded Ardent Capital in 2016 after more than a decade in financial planning and mortgage broking. For the past ten years he has led a team of finance specialists, mortgage advisers, brokers and credit analysts, all working to secure optimal outcomes for clients and always acting in their best interests. The team brings both a qualitative and a quantitative approach to every deal.
