May 3, 2026 Medical & Allied Health

What Optometry Practice Owners Should Know About Commercial Property Finance

Buying the premises your optometry practice trades from is a defining step, one that turns rent into equity and secures the location your patients already know. At Ardent Capital Group we speak with practice owners about this kind of commercial property purchase, and this guide walks through how a lender reads an optometry premises and what shapes the finance.

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

Funding range: We arrange commercial property finance from $100,000 to $10,000,000+, matched to practice size and cash flow.
Track record: We have helped facilitate over $500,000,000 in funding over a decade for more than 1,000 borrowers.
Coverage: We service Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and surrounding regional towns.
Sector focus: Optometry, optical retail and allied medical premises, including strata suites, freehold shops and medical precinct assets.

The case for owning your optometry practice premises

Optometry clinics carry high, tailored fit-out costs. Rooms need plumbing and data, dark-room control, cabinetry for frames, secure storage, and dedicated spaces for OCT, visual fields, autorefractor, slit lamp and dispensing. Relocating that investment is disruptive, so value concentrates at the address. A strong location keeps patient recall strong and keeps retail footfall for frames and sunglasses. Owning means repayments build equity in an asset that supports the practice and can improve long-term margin stability.

Key drivers for optometry owners

Control of location and layout: Secure your street frontage near supermarkets, pharmacies or medical centres, and keep testing rooms, pre-test flow and retail sightlines exactly how you want them.
Fit-out durability: Clinically compliant rooms, plumbing and electrical for equipment, and frame displays are sunk costs that you can anchor to an owned title.
Sector resilience: Eye care is non-discretionary. Recurring recalls, Medicare rebate activity and private health fund claims support predictable revenue.
Equity building: Principal repayments grow your ownership stake while rent paid to a landlord does not.
Potential rental income: Extra rooms can be subleased to orthoptists or allied specialists on commercial terms.

When buying may not suit

A short remaining lease with incentives you would forfeit by exiting early.
A planned relocation to a stronger precinct, a centre redevelopment, or a future co-location with a GP or pharmacy.
Capital better deployed in equipment upgrades, a second site or digital dispensing that lifts revenue per consult. The decision sits with you.

Structure matters as much as the rate on a purchase like this, and our optometry property loan specialists arrange the finance around how you plan to hold and occupy the premises.

Financing an optometry practice: how it works

Deposit and LVR Optometrists sit in the allied-health band where lender recognition varies, and that variance is where a broker earns their place. Some healthcare lenders recognise the profession and will fund an owner-occupier up to 100 per cent of the purchase price on the practice property alone, without taking your home as additional security. Others assess the premises as standard commercial and gear to around 80 per cent of value, meaning a deposit near 20 per cent from cash or equity. Knowing which lender does which is the core of the work.

Loan term and structure Terms commonly run 15 to 25 years, with banks typically shorter and non-bank lenders longer. Structures include principal and interest for steady equity build, or interest only for a period where preserving cash flow is the priority, for example during a refit or equipment refresh.

Security and serviceability The property is usually the primary security. Lenders assess practice financials, stability of billings, Medicare and private health fund mix, and retail gross profit. They look at EBITDA after owner's wage, existing commitments and headroom for interest rate movement. A current valuation of the premises is required.

Owner-occupier treatment Lenders generally view an owner-occupied clinic favourably. Long trading history, recurring patient recalls, and diversified revenue between consultations and dispensing can support stronger terms compared to pure investment property.

How the deal is put together

Many optometry owners hold the premises in a separate entity, such as a company or unit trust, and lease it to the trading practice at a commercial rent. A lender then reads that inter-entity rent as the serviceability line and takes the property as the primary security, which keeps the asset and the operating business cleanly separated for future partner buy-ins or buy-outs.

Where the purchase runs through an SMSF, commercial premises generally qualify as business real property, so the fund can own the building and lease it back to the practice at market rate through a limited recourse arrangement held by a bare trust. Lending terms are tighter, LVRs sit lower, and personal guarantees still apply. Ardent Capital Group arranges the finance around the set-up you use; your accountant and SMSF adviser confirm the tax, super and ownership detail before anything is locked in.

What credit teams weigh up

Practice financials: Two to three years of profit and loss and balance sheet, BAS, tax returns, and commentary on recall rates, chair-time utilisation and retail gross margin.
Serviceability: EBITDA after owner's wage, add-backs that are sustainable, and sensitivity to rate rises.
Property and valuation: Title type, strata quality, centre turnover rent clauses if in a shopping centre, comparable sales and passing market rent.
Deposit and equity: Cash savings, term deposits, or the ability to leverage your equity in residential or other commercial property to strengthen the position.
Lease and occupancy: For investment structures, lease terms and options. For owner-occupiers, continuing occupancy, fit-out quality and location anchors such as pharmacy or GP adjacency.

A specialist broker matters because optometry income streams, equipment cycles and fit-out profiles are specific, and lenders weigh them differently.

A situation we could help with

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

Profile: Solo optometrist in a suburban retail strip, eight years trading, two test rooms, OCT and visual fields installed, annual billings split 55 per cent clinical and 45 per cent dispensing.
Objective: Move off $132,000 a year in rent and buy a nearby freehold shop with similar footfall, while keeping capacity for an equipment refresh next year.
Options mapped:
- Buy the freehold shop at $2,100,000, deposit around 20 per cent using cash and equity, structured principal and interest over 20 years.
- Buy a strata medical suite at $1,550,000 in a mixed medical precinct, interest only for two years while refurbishing, then switch to principal and interest.
- Acquire a strata premises through an SMSF at market rent, with a lower LVR and a liquidity plan for pensions later.
- Keep leasing and complete a $300,000 refit, then reassess a purchase in 18 months as the second-site pipeline firms up.
How we would approach it: We would map each path, including the LVR range up to around 80 per cent for the owner-occupied premises subject to valuation and serviceability, the property held in a unit trust with a related-party lease at market rent, cash flow under rate sensitivity, and fit-out timing. The figures above are illustrative, not confirmed outcomes, and the decision sits with the owner.

Other finance we arrange for optometry practice operators

Optometry equipment finance: Fund OCT, slit lamp, retinal camera, visual fields, autorefractor and an edger without draining working capital.
Fit-out and refurbishment finance: Cover cabinetry, plumbing for test rooms, lighting upgrades and retail display while you keep consults running.
Working capital: Smooth seasonality around frame ordering, contact lens stock and pre-Christmas retail with working capital for an optometry practice.
Business overdraft: Provide day-to-day headroom for supplier terms, HICAPS settlements and payroll.
Refinancing and debt consolidation: Restructure existing facilities, align terms and potentially improve pricing based on current performance.
Construction and renovation: Build out additional test rooms, add accessibility works or expand a rear lab for edging and repairs.
Business or premises acquisition finance: Buy into a partner's equity, acquire a second clinic, or purchase the premises your practice already occupies.

Owning the premises can free equity as the loan amortises, and a well-timed refinance can consolidate facilities to match the next growth step.

Why optometry practice owners work with Ardent

Ardent Capital Group arranges and structures commercial mortgages around how you intend to hold and occupy the property, including related-party leases and SMSF considerations. We understand how clinical billings, retail margins and equipment cycles shape serviceability and structure.

We are a specialist commercial mortgage broker servicing 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 more than 1,000 borrowers.

If you are weighing a move from tenant to owner, talk to our team. We focus on clear structures, practical terms and optimal financial outcomes, so the finance supports the practice you are building and the years ahead, not just this settlement.

Optometry practice mortgage FAQs

What deposit do I need to buy my clinic premises? A deposit of around 20 per cent is common where the premises is assessed as standard commercial, funded from cash or equity in other property. Owner-occupier purchases with a recognising healthcare lender can support a smaller deposit, subject to lender policy.

Can I use my SMSF to buy the rooms and lease them to my practice? Yes, commercial premises generally qualify as business real property, so an SMSF can own the asset and lease it back at market rent. Lending terms differ, LVRs sit lower, and liquidity planning matters. Your accountant and SMSF adviser confirm the detail.

Is strata in a medical precinct viewed differently to a street-front retail shop? Often yes. Lenders weigh strata quality, body corporate health and medical co-tenancy strength against the visibility and trading profile of freehold retail. Valuation evidence drives the final view.

How do lenders treat Medicare and private health fund revenue in serviceability? They look at the stability of billings, recall rates, payer mix and margins on dispensing. Sustainable EBITDA after owner's wage and add-backs informs the debt limit.

Can I finance the fit-out and equipment alongside the property loan? Yes. Many owners pair a commercial mortgage with equipment finance and a separate fit-out facility so the property loan remains clean and long term while assets are matched to useful life.

What LVR can I expect for a shopping centre tenancy with a turnover rent clause? Policies vary. Turnover rent creates valuation nuance, so lenders often moderate LVR or focus on owner-occupier strength, lease terms and centre performance.

How do optometry owners usually hold the premises when they buy it? Many hold the property in a separate company or trust and lease it to the trading practice at a commercial rent, which ring-fences the asset and gives clarity for future partner buy-ins. We map the common arrangements and arrange the finance accordingly.

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.