June 27, 2026 Medical & Allied Health

Commercial Mortgages for a Physiotherapy Clinic, Explained

Buying the premises your physiotherapy clinic already treats from is a defining step, turning an essential overhead into an asset you own and control. At Ardent Capital Group we speak with allied-health owners about this kind of commercial property purchase regularly, so this guide sets out how a lender reads a physio clinic and what shapes the number.

Ardent Capital Group is a specialist in commercial mortgages for physiotherapy clinic operators across Australia. Our team helps owners move from tenant to owner, with clear lending advice on structure and strategy.

Funding capacity: We arrange finance from $100,000 to $10,000,000+, aligned to the size and stage of your clinic.
Track record: We have helped facilitate over $500,000,000 in funding over a decade for more than 1,000 borrowers.
National coverage: We service Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and surrounding regional towns.
Structures that fit: We work with companies, trusts and SMSFs, and shape lending around your holding and occupancy plan.

Owning vs leasing your physiotherapy clinic

A clinic fit-out is specialised, and the spend is material. Treatment rooms, reception, accessible bathrooms, acoustic separation, air conditioning, data, and the exercise area with flooring and mirrors often run into six figures. Locations are sticky, with referral relationships tied to nearby GPs and specialists, parking and visibility. Patients build habits around your address, and moving risks a drop-off. The sector is resilient, supported by private health extras, Medicare CDM and EPC plans, NDIS and compensable schemes. Owning converts an operating expense into equity in an asset you control, down to layout, signage and hours.

Main drivers:

Control over a clinical environment: Design rooms, rehab zones and circulation to suit your workflow, patient privacy and practitioner throughput.
Fit-out durability: Invest once in partitions, plumbing and services that support modalities like Pilates, shockwave and ultrasound for years.
Location and referral stability: Stay anchored near GP hubs, imaging providers, sports clubs and schools that feed consistent referrals.
Cost certainty and equity build: Replace rent reviews with a repayment schedule that builds ownership over 15 to 25 years.

Buying may not suit if your lease has only a short runway and you intend to relocate, if catchment changes point to a better suburb, or if capital would produce a higher return expanding practitioners, marketing or equipment. The call belongs to you.

As a specialist commercial mortgage broker arranging a physio property loan, we work the full lender panel, not a single bank.

What a physiotherapy clinic commercial mortgage looks like

Deposit and LVR: Physiotherapy sits in allied health, where lender treatment varies, and that variance is the core of the job. Some lenders recognise physiotherapists and extend their professional package, funding up to 100 per cent of the purchase price on the clinic property alone, with no additional security. Others assess the clinic as standard commercial, which reaches up to 80 per cent, so a 20 per cent deposit. Knowing which lender sees a physio clinic which way is what shortens the path.
Loan term and structure: Terms run to 25 or 30 years with non-bank lenders, and commonly 10 to 15 years with the major banks. Many clinics use principal and interest for steady amortisation, or interest-only for a set period to prioritise cash flow during fit-out and the onboarding of new clinicians.
Security and serviceability: The property is the primary security. Lenders assess serviceability from business financials, BAS and bank statements, usually with add-backs for non-cash items. Where a property entity leases to the trading company, the lease sits at commercial market rent to evidence income. For an owner-occupier, the rent you stop paying to a landlord can also be counted toward servicing the loan.
Owner-occupier treatment: Lenders generally view owner-occupied allied-health premises favourably given low vacancy, consistent demand and sticky tenancy profiles. This can support pricing and acceptable LVRs compared with a pure investment.

Common ways to hold the property

Many clinic owners hold the real estate in a separate entity, such as a company or a unit or discretionary trust, which leases the premises to the trading business at a commercial rent. A lender then reads that inter-entity rent as the serviceability line, and the arrangement keeps operating risk separate from the property. We arrange the mortgage around whichever holding structure the clinic and its property entity already use, so the lending follows your accountant's existing setup rather than dictating a new one.

Some owners look at buying the premises through a self-managed super fund. Commercial premises typically qualify as business real property, so an SMSF can acquire the building through a limited-recourse borrowing arrangement and lease it back to the clinic at market rent, held through a bare custodian trust. SMSF lending gears lower than a standard purchase, usually 65 to 75 per cent, and personal guarantees and a liquidity buffer still apply. We arrange the loan and work through the lender's bare trust and LRBA requirements, while your accountant and SMSF specialist sign off on the fund's tax, contribution and ownership position before contracts are exchanged.

How your application is assessed

Business financials and performance: Profitability trends, practitioner utilisation, average consult fees, payer mix across private health, Medicare CDM and EPC, NDIS and compensable schemes.
Serviceability: Cash flow coverage of proposed repayments, with consideration of add-backs, director income and any lease set between related entities.
The property and valuation: Zoning for medical or consulting use, parking, lift access, proximity to referrers, quality of strata and building services, and comparable sales.
Deposit and equity position: Cash on hand, the ability to leverage your equity in other property, and any secondary security or guarantees.
Lease and occupancy: If buying part-tenanted premises, existing leases, rent levels, expiries and incentives are reviewed. For owner-occupiers, a market-rate related-party lease supports the application.
Credit conduct: ATO portals, credit files, existing facility conduct and any temporary-assistance history.

A specialist broker who works with allied-health clinics regularly shortens the path to lenders and structures that reflect how your clinic earns and grows.

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.

Situation: Principal physiotherapist with a six-practitioner clinic in leased rooms, lease expiry in 14 months, fit-out sunk cost of about $220,000 and expanding group rehab offerings.
Property considered: 220 square metre strata medical suite near a GP super-clinic with 8 on-grade car parks, purchase price $1,400,000, light refurbishment required.
Funding options mapped:
- Company or trust purchase at up to 80 per cent LVR, deposit around $280,000 plus costs, with the option to leverage your equity in the owner's home to reduce the cash outlay.
- SMSF purchase using an LRBA at about 70 per cent LVR, rent set at market rate, with attention to liquidity buffers and contribution caps.
- Split facility: a core mortgage for the property and a supplementary equipment and fit-out line to refresh rooms and add reformers and shockwave.
How we would approach it: We would map the ranges, structures and repayments across each path, then present the cash flow impacts. The owner-occupier structure targets sharper pricing and higher LVRs, the SMSF path runs at a lower LVR funded from the fund's own deposit under an LRBA, and split funding preserves working capital while the clinic onboards two new physiotherapists. The figures above are illustrative, not confirmed outcomes, and the decision stays with the owner.

Finance types for physiotherapy clinic owners

Asset finance for physiotherapy equipment: Fund treatment tables, Pilates reformers, shockwave and ultrasound units, force plates and gym rigs. Our physio equipment finance keeps working capital intact.
Fit-out and refurbishment finance: Cover partitions, plumbing for wet areas, acoustic upgrades, reception joinery and compliant accessibility works.
Working capital loans: Smooth cash flow around private health and insurer remittances, seasonal extras peaks and clinician onboarding. We arrange working capital for a physio clinic to bridge the timing gaps.
Business overdraft: Manage timing gaps between HICAPS claims, Medicare EPC receipts and payroll.
Refinancing and debt consolidation: Restructure multiple equipment leases and short-term loans into a cleaner, lower-cost facility.
Construction and renovation: Finance an expansion, new rooms or a larger rehab zone in an existing tenancy or owned premises.
Business or premises acquisition finance: Buy a second location, acquire a patient list, or purchase the freehold your clinic already occupies.

Owning the premises can free equity over time, and a well-timed refinance can consolidate facilities and simplify your monthly outgoings.

A broker who knows physiotherapy clinic property

Ardent Capital Group arranges and structures commercial mortgages for physiotherapy clinic owners, with lending shaped around how you plan to hold and occupy the property. We coordinate the lender, the entity structure and the lease between your property vehicle and trading business.

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. This is the kind of purchase where the structure and the strategy matter as much as the rate, and we give clear advice on both, so the finance supports the wealth you are building and the years ahead.

Your questions answered

What deposit do I need to buy a physiotherapy clinic property?

Assessed as standard commercial, many lenders fund up to 80 per cent LVR for owner-occupiers, so a 20 per cent deposit, and lenders that recognise physiotherapists as professional borrowers can extend further on the clinic property alone.

Can I buy my clinic premises in an SMSF and lease it back to the practice?

Yes, commercial premises that qualify as business real property can be purchased by an SMSF and leased to your clinic at market rent under an LRBA, subject to serviceability and a liquidity buffer.

Will lenders recognise my payer mix across private health, Medicare, NDIS and insurers?

Yes, lenders assess total trading revenue and stability of receipts, supported by BAS, financial statements and bank statements.

Can I include fit-out and equipment in the same facility as the property loan?

Some lenders allow a portion of fit-out and professional costs to be funded alongside the property, or via a companion equipment facility, subject to equity and serviceability.

How long does approval take for a commercial mortgage on a clinic?

Term sheets are often issued in a few days, with formal approvals typically two to six weeks depending on valuation timing and how complete your documentation is.

Are allied-health suites viewed favourably by lenders?

Yes, owner-occupied allied-health premises are often treated as strong assets given low vacancy and sticky demand, which can support pricing and acceptable LVRs.

What other costs should I plan for when purchasing?

Plan for stamp duty, legal and valuation fees, lender costs, potential GST on a commercial property purchase, strata and outgoings, and a buffer for refurbishment.

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.