May 15, 2026 Automotive & Transport

Understanding Commercial Mortgages for a Motorcycle, Caravan and Boat Dealership

Buying the showroom your motorcycle, caravan or boat dealership already trades from is a defining step for any operator. At Ardent Capital Group we speak with dealership owners about this kind of commercial property purchase regularly, so this guide covers how a lender values the site, the deposit and LVR to plan for, and how the finance is commonly structured.

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

Funding scope: Access finance from about $100,000 to $10,000,000+, tailored to owner-occupier and investor structures.
Track record: Over $500,000,000 in funding facilitated across a decade for more than 1,000 borrowers.
National coverage: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and regional towns.
Sector focus: Dealership assets, from highway showrooms and marina-adjacent yards to workshops, wash bays and parts facilities.

Why buy rather than lease your motorcycle, caravan and boat dealership

Your site is more than four walls. It is highway frontage with pylon signage, wide apron for display and deliveries, compliant wash-down with oil-water separators, high-lux lighting for stock presentation, roller-door access for caravans and boats, racking for parts, and customer parking. Fit-out and yard works often run into seven figures across glazing, flooring, lighting, fencing, CCTV, wayfinding, hoists and compliant drainage. Owning the freehold anchors that investment to your balance sheet.

Location and access shape your customer base. Motorcycle showrooms favour visible arterial corridors near riding communities. Caravan yards need deep hardstand, generous turning circles and weekend access. Boat dealers may require proximity to water, larger sheds for boats on trailers and environmental controls. Moving breaks momentum and risks franchise standards. Ownership supports brand permanence and valuation on exit.

Repayments build an owned asset. Rental escalations compound. Owner-occupiers typically access sharper pricing and higher LVRs than investors. Over time, the premises can be refinanced to fund expansion or a second site.

Main drivers:

Control: Fit-out to OEM standards, signage rights, opening hours and layout without landlord constraints.
Capital capture: Yard resurfacing, hoists, wash bays, mezzanines and services retained as value in your property.
Cash flow stability: Known repayments, protection from market rent spikes and make-good claims at lease end.
Strategic value: Security for future growth, capacity to leverage your equity for acquisitions or renovations.

Buying may not suit if your lease has a short horizon with a likely relocation, if the catchment is shifting due to roadworks or development, or if capital is better deployed into stock turns, floorplan curtailments or a new franchise opportunity. The decision sits with you.

The mechanics of a motorcycle, caravan and boat dealership mortgage

Deposit and LVR. A dealership showroom and workshop is standard commercial security, so an owner-occupier can gear up to 80 per cent of the property value, which means a deposit near 20 per cent. A site that is mostly open display hardstand with little building sits closer to 65 per cent, the band for vacant industrial land, so the balance of shed to yard is worth knowing before you make an offer. The major banks publish no owner-occupier commercial LVR at all, so knowing which lender suits your site is the work a broker does. Some scenarios reach up to 100 per cent of the purchase price using additional property as security, and our team can explain when that fits.

Loan term and structure. Terms commonly run to about 15 years with a bank and 25 to 30 years with a non-bank lender. Structures include principal and interest for steady amortisation, or interest only where cash flow priorities favour stock and marketing cycles.

Security and serviceability. The freehold is the primary security. Lenders review trading performance, EBITDA, add-backs, floorplan and stocking facility obligations, seasonality for boats and caravans, and the stability of service revenue. They normalise for manufacturer bonuses, consignment arrangements and one-off refit costs.

Owner-occupier treatment. Lenders view an owner-occupier favourably. Alignment between the trading entity and the freehold reduces tenancy risk and supports sharper pricing compared with a pure investment.

Structuring the finance

Many dealership owners hold the freehold in a separate entity, such as a company or trust, and lease it to the trading business at commercial market rent. A lender then reads that related-party rent as the serviceability line and treats the trading company as the tenant. The lease documents the rent, outgoings, options and market reviews, which supports the valuation and any later refinance.

Ardent handles the finance and which lenders take this security and on what terms, and your accountant and SMSF adviser set up and confirm the fund and tax detail.

SMSF, in brief. Yes, an SMSF can buy the premises, and it is one of the more intricate purchases in commercial finance. Commercial premises generally qualify as business real property, so the fund can hold the building and lease it back to your trading entity at market rent, and that rent must actually be paid. Where the fund borrows, it does so through a limited recourse borrowing arrangement: the property sits in a separate holding (bare) trust, the lender's recourse is limited to that one asset, and cross-collateralisation is not available inside super, so the fund needs its own deposit. The arrangement funds a single asset, so the business, fit-out and equipment are financed separately. The bare trust must exist before contracts are signed. Your accountant and a licensed SMSF adviser confirm the fund side, and Ardent arranges the finance around it.

How lenders size up the deal

Business financials: Two to three years financial statements, BAS, tax returns, current YTD, evidence of OEM incentives and service department margins.
Serviceability: Debt service coverage incorporating rent or internal lease, floorplan interest and curtailments, seasonality for summer marine peaks and spring motorcycle launches.
Property and valuation: Zoning for showroom and workshop use, frontage and traffic counts, hardstand quality, workshop compliance, environmental risks from oils and wash bays, flood considerations for marine-adjacent sites.
Deposit and equity: Cash, retained earnings, equity in other property, potential vendor terms, and any required liquidity post-settlement.
Lease and occupancy: Owner-occupier alignment, related-party lease at market rent, franchise tenure, signage rights and parking ratios.

A specialist broker matters because dealership properties blend retail, yard and industrial features that many general lenders and valuers treat conservatively without sector context.

A scenario worth considering

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

Situation: Multi-brand motorcycle and caravan dealer in outer Brisbane, renting a prominent corner site. Landlord plans to sell. The property price guide is $3,800,000, including showroom, 3-bay workshop, 4,000 m² hardstand and pylon signage.
Objectives: Secure the site, maintain floorplan headroom for new-season stock, preserve cash for marketing and pre-delivery staffing.
Deposit pathways considered: Cash on hand of $450,000, plus leverage your equity in the director's home and an investment property to reach a 25 per cent effective deposit. Vendor finance for 5 per cent was discussed to reduce cash outlay.
Structures weighed: Purchase in a family trust with corporate trustee, related-party lease to the trading company at market rent. An SMSF purchase was considered, then set aside on timing. A split loan with an interest only period during yard resurfacing was on the table.
Likely lending frame: 70 to 80 per cent against the freehold, with the exact figure set by the valuation and the lender's read of the yard improvements and compliant wash bay. Floorplan facility maintained with lender comfort on DSCR after normalising OEM bonuses.
How we would approach it: Map the ranges, structures and repayments so the operator can weigh control of the site against working capital. The figures above are illustrative, not confirmed outcomes.

Finance ACG arranges for motorcycle, caravan and boat dealerships

Asset finance for dealership equipment: Hoists, marine forklifts, dynos, diagnostic tools, trailer fleets, detailing gear and parts racking to support service and delivery.
Fit-out and refurbishment finance: Showroom glazing, tiles or polished concrete, LED lighting rigs, pylon signage, fencing, CCTV, wash bays and oil-water separators.
Working capital loans: Pre-season stock ramps, curtailments, OEM program participation and marketing bursts around new model launches.
Business overdraft: Day-to-day swings from trade-ins, workshop seasonality and OEM rebate timing.
Refinancing and debt consolidation: Reset cash flow, tidy ATO debt, align loan terms to asset life and release equity for growth.
Construction and renovation: Extend showroom, add awnings or canopies, resurface hardstand, add roller doors, expand workshop bays.
Business or premises acquisition finance: Buy a second site, buy out a partner or secure a marina-adjacent yard for a marine division.
Floorplan and stocking facilities: Align stocking limits and curtailments with sales cadence across motorcycles, caravans and boats.

Own the premises, and the equity you build can support dealership equipment finance for the next hoist or trailer fleet, or working capital for a dealership to carry pre-season stock. A refinance can consolidate facilities for cleaner reporting and simpler covenants.

Specialist finance for motorcycle, caravan and boat dealership premises

Ardent Capital Group is a specialist in commercial mortgages for motorcycle, caravan and boat dealerships. We arrange and structure funding around how you intend to hold and occupy the property, including trust, company and SMSF arrangements with clear related-party leasing.

We service Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and surrounding metro and regional areas. We have helped facilitate over $500,000,000 in funding over a decade for over 1,000 borrowers. If you want a direct conversation about your site and the finance available, talk to our team. The goal is optimal financial outcomes, delivered with clear advice and no noise.

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

Frequently asked questions

How much deposit do I need to buy my dealership freehold? A dealership showroom and workshop gears up to 80 per cent for an owner-occupier, so plan for a deposit near 20 per cent, and more where the site is mostly open display hardstand. Equity in other property, vendor terms or additional security can reduce the cash you put in.

Can I use my existing property to help, and still keep stock moving? Yes. You can leverage your equity in residential or commercial property to reach the deposit while keeping cash free for floorplan and marketing.

Will a specialised site, like large hardstand and workshops, hurt the valuation? Specialised improvements are common for dealerships. A valuer will consider zoning, exposure, hardstand, workshop compliance, wash bays and market comparables, then capitalise market rent for owner-occupier scenarios.

How do lenders treat floorplan and stocking facilities in serviceability? They include curtailments and interest in cash flow, normalise OEM bonuses and seasonality, and test coverage after rent or internal lease to the property entity.

Can an SMSF buy the premises and lease it back to my trading company? Yes, commercial property generally qualifies as business real property for SMSFs, with leaseback at market rent. Expect lower gearing, limited recourse rules and extra documentation, so weigh timing and liquidity, and confirm the fund side with a licensed adviser.

What loan terms are typical for dealership freeholds? Terms run to about 15 years with a bank and 25 to 30 years with a non-bank lender, on principal and interest or interest only depending on cash flow and the property's economic life.

When might buying not make sense for a dealership? If relocation is likely within a few years, if the catchment is uncertain due to road changes, or if capital returns faster in stock and growth initiatives, renting can be the better call.

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.