June 4, 2026 Retail & Consumer Services

Commercial Mortgages for a Convenience Store, Explained

Buying the premises your convenience store trades from is a defining step, turning years of rent into an asset you own and build on. At Ardent Capital Group we speak with retail owners about this kind of commercial property purchase regularly, and this guide walks through how a lender reads the shop, the deposit and the structure.

Ardent Capital Group is a specialist in commercial mortgages for convenience store operators across Australia. Our team can help you move from tenant to owner, and give you clear lending advice on structure and strategy.

Access finance from $100,000 to $10,000,000+, arranged around your trading profile and cash flow.
Over $500,000,000 in funding facilitated over a decade for more than 1,000 borrowers, across owner-occupier and investment structures.
Coverage across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and surrounding regional towns.
A broad lender panel with terms negotiated to suit convenience retail, including extended trading hours and cash-heavy operations.

Owning vs leasing your convenience store

Corner positions, commuter paths, near-school traffic and parking access create consistent footfall that attaches to the address. Your fit-out is significant, including the walk-in cool room, upright display fridges, freezers, POS and back-office systems, security shutters, CCTV, shelving and counters, and owning the building protects that investment rather than leaving it exposed to a landlord's sale or a rent rise. Daily-needs retail has proven resilient through cycles, with income from groceries, tobacco, lotteries, parcel pickup, coffee and ready-to-eat lines. Ownership converts rent into repayments that build equity in a tangible asset.

Main drivers:

Control of the site and stable trading hours, without lease renewal risk or unexpected rent rises.
The ability to align fit-out spend with a long hold, so refrigeration and shopfitting amortise into an owned building.
Capital growth and equity creation that can support future store upgrades or a second site.
Potential rental income from surplus space, such as a kiosk or sub-tenancy, subject to layout and zoning.

Buying may not suit every operator. A relocation on the horizon, a trade area shifting due to a new centre or roadworks, a short lease with a landlord unwilling to sell, or capital that is better deployed in higher-return store improvements such as extra fridges, a coffee offer, extended hours or staff, can all point the other way. The decision sits with you.

If buying your premises is on the horizon, our convenience store property loan team can map the numbers with you.

What a convenience store commercial mortgage looks like

Deposit and LVR. For an owner-occupier convenience store, the right lender funds up to 80 per cent of the property value, so a 20 per cent deposit plus costs puts the purchase within reach. Some files sit a little lower depending on the lender, the location and the strength of the trade. The major banks do not publish an owner-occupier commercial LVR at all and assess case by case, which is one reason a broker who knows the panel is worth having. Owner-occupiers are generally assessed more favourably, because the operating business is anchored to the site.

Loan term and structure. Bank terms commonly run 10 to 15 years, while non-bank lenders often extend to 25 to 30 years, which lowers the repayment against store cash flow. Repayments can be principal and interest for steady debt reduction, or interest only where cash flow is the priority for a period.

Security and serviceability. The property is the primary security. Lenders review business financials and serviceability using BAS, tax returns, POS reports and bank statements. They look at gross margins by category, wages-to-sales ratio, rent-to-sales history, tobacco exposure and add-backs such as depreciation and interest.

Owner-occupier treatment. Lenders tend to prefer owner-occupier purchases, because the operating business is anchored to the property, which reduces vacancy risk and supports steady serviceability.

Common ways to hold the property

Many convenience store operators hold the freehold in a separate entity, such as a discretionary trust or a company, and the trading business leases the premises back at a commercial rent. A lender then reads the inter-entity rent as the serviceability line and takes the property as security, while the arrangement keeps operating risk and the building apart and the accounts clean. Ardent Capital Group arranges the finance around a structure like this, and your accountant confirms the detail before settlement.

SMSF purchases. Commercial premises generally qualify as business real property, so an SMSF can hold the freehold in its own bare trust under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, with the trading entity leasing it back at market rent. The arrangement funds this single asset only, so the fund needs its own deposit rather than drawing on other security, and specialist lenders publish standard commercial LVR bands of 65 to 80 per cent for a purchase of this kind. The refrigeration, POS and shopfitting sit outside the fund and are financed separately. Ardent Capital Group arranges the lending side of a purchase like this, while your accountant and an SMSF specialist confirm the tax, super and ownership detail before contracts are signed.

How your application is assessed

Business financials: Two years of financial statements and tax returns, BAS, interim P&L, POS category reports and bank statements that evidence daily takings and seasonality.
Serviceability: Interest cover based on normalised earnings, add-backs for non-cash items, owner's wage adjustments and a comparison of historic rent to proposed loan repayments.
The property: Address quality, visibility, corner exposure, parking, zoning for retail, any flood or contamination risk, centre or strip dynamics and council approvals for use.
Valuation: Independent valuation using comparable retail sales and, where relevant, an income approach if part of the property is leased to third parties.
Deposit and equity position: Cash savings, equity in residential or other property and vendor terms, with the option to leverage your equity to increase borrowing power.
Lease and occupancy: If you will occupy the whole site, the terms of any current lease to be extinguished at settlement. If part-let, lease profiles, expiries and options.

A broker who knows convenience retail presents your figures to the lenders whose appetite fits this kind of trade.

How this might look in practice

This is an illustrative scenario that shows the kind of situation we can assist with, and how the thinking might run.

Profile: Inner-suburban convenience store, 120 sqm corner shop, seven-day trade, annual sales about $2,100,000, EBITDA about $280,000. Current rent $96,000 per year plus outgoings. The landlord is open to selling at $1,350,000.
Owner position: $150,000 cash, a home with $350,000 usable equity, clean conduct on existing facilities, and POS and BAS reports consistent with bankings.
Options to map: buy as an owner-occupier through a family trust with a corporate trustee, buy through an SMSF with a lease back at market rent, renew the lease on fresh terms, or bring in a co-buyer to reduce the individual equity outlay.
Indicative gearing: up to 80 per cent against the shop for an owner-occupier, subject to lender appetite and valuation.
Repayment shape: principal and interest over a longer non-bank term to align with store cash flow, or a staged interest-only period during a refrigeration upgrade, then amortising once the work is complete.
Entity and rent: if held in a trust or an SMSF, a market rent in line with local retail evidence supports both serviceability and valuation.
How we would approach it: we would map the ranges, structures and repayments, and set out how each lender would view the trade. The figures above are illustrative, not confirmed outcomes, and the decision stays with the owner.

Finance types for convenience store owners

Refrigeration and POS finance: Upright display fridges, walk-in cool rooms, freezers, coffee machines, POS, CCTV and back-office systems, arranged as convenience store equipment finance over practical terms.
Fit-out and refurbishment finance: Shelving, counters, roller shutters, lighting, signage and layout changes funded without straining working capital.
Working capital: Short-term working capital for a convenience store to cover seasonal stock builds for holidays and heatwaves when cold drink demand spikes.
Business overdraft: A revolving limit to smooth supplier payments against EFTPOS settlement timing and lotto agency remittances.
Refinancing and debt consolidation: Reprice existing facilities, tidy multiple small loans into a cleaner structure and improve monthly cash flow.
Construction and renovation: Extensions, cool room rebuilds, accessibility upgrades and back-of-house storage improvements, subject to approvals.
Business or premises acquisition finance: Buy your current freehold from a landlord, acquire a neighbouring tenancy for expansion, or buy out a partner.

Owning the premises can free equity for future upgrades, and a refinance can consolidate facilities to further support cash flow.

A broker who knows convenience store property

Ardent Capital Group arranges and structures commercial mortgages for convenience store owners, aligning the finance with how you intend to hold the property and how you occupy it day to day. We know how lenders view strip retail, late trading, cash-heavy takings and refrigeration-heavy fit-outs, and we present your numbers accordingly.

We service Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and surrounding metro and regional areas. We work across purchase, refinance and equity release for convenience retail, and we have helped facilitate over $500,000,000 in funding over a decade for more than 1,000 borrowers. Talk to us about a clear plan aimed at optimal financial outcomes.

Your questions answered

How much deposit do I need to buy my convenience store premises? For an owner-occupier, the right lender funds up to 80 per cent of value, so plan for a 20 per cent deposit plus costs. Some files sit a little lower depending on the lender, the site and the strength of the trade.

Do lenders accept cash-heavy sales for serviceability? Yes, where bank statements, BAS and POS reports reconcile to show consistent takings. Expect questions on category margins, tobacco exposure and wage ratios.

Can my SMSF buy the shop and lease it back to my business? Commercial premises generally qualify as business real property, so an SMSF can own the freehold and lease it back at market rent, with rules on contributions, borrowing and liquidity to consider. Your accountant confirms the detail.

Can I hold the property in a trust and lease it to the trading company? Many operators do. A separate entity holds the freehold and leases it to the operating company at a commercial rent, which a lender reads as the serviceability line and which keeps risk and accounting clean.

How do lenders view tobacco, lotteries and parcel services in my sales mix? They look at gross margins, compliance and stability. A diversified basket with consistent lotto and parcel foot traffic can support income stability.

What loan term suits a convenience store purchase? Bank terms commonly run 10 to 15 years, and non-bank lenders extend to 25 to 30 years. Principal and interest reduces debt steadily, while an initial interest-only period can help during a refurbishment or stock expansion phase.

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.