Bridging the Gap Between Your Business and the Bank. From debt refinancing to specialised fit-outs, find out how Hardie Finance Group uses deep industry knowledge to create genuine competition for your business.
Commercial finance is any funding used for business purposes rather than personal use. Unlike residential lending, which is heavily regulated, commercial finance is bespoke. The terms, rates, and structures are negotiated based on the specific risk profile of your business.
Commercial finance is provided to businesses, trusts, and companies for business related purposes such as:
Commercial property purchases
Business acquisitions
Equipment and asset finance
Working capital and overdrafts
Business expansion funding
Fit-outs and inventory funding
These loans are assessed based on business performance, cash flow, assets, and risk.
While a home loan might run for 30 years, commercial loans typically have shorter terms (often 15 to 20 years) or roll over periods every 3 – 5 years. Lenders also look closer at the Weighted Average Lease Expiry (WALE) and the type of tenant. Crucially, the Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) is lower. You typically need a 30% deposit for commercial property, compared to the 5% to 20% often seen in residential.
The process typically involves:
Understanding your business and growth objectives
Reviewing financial statements and cash flow capacity
Structuring the loan appropriately
Preparing a professional credit submission
Approaching multiple lenders
Negotiating terms, pricing, and conditions
Coordinating approval and settlement
Preparation and correct structuring significantly improve approval outcomes and terms.
Buyouts are sensitive and structurally complex. A specialised broker acts as an essential buffer. We ensure the remaining partners aren’t over leveraged and that the exiting partner’s release is handled cleanly. Because we understand complex tax structures and trusts, we can work alongside your accountant to ensure the new debt structure is tax effective and sustainable.
A broker ensures:
The correct loan structure to minimise risk
Access to multiple lenders beyond your existing bank
Competitive pricing through lender competition
A professionally presented credit submission
Management of the entire process to settlement
This reduces delays, improves approval probability, and protects business continuity.
Debtor finance allows you to access funds tied up in unpaid invoices. Instead of waiting 30 – 60+ days for payment, lenders advance up to 80 – 90% of the invoice value immediately.
Benefits include:
Improved cash flow
Faster access to working capital
Ability to fund growth without taking on traditional term debt
Finance that grows automatically with your sales
This is particularly useful for businesses experiencing rapid growth or long payment cycles.
Yes. Finance is available for:
Office, retail, or industrial fit outs
Plant and equipment
Vehicles and machinery
Specialised or bulk inventory purchases
These are typically structured as equipment finance or term loans, matched to the purposes and useful life of the asset.
Lenders typically require:
Last 2 years financial statements
Business and personal tax returns
Interim financials (if available)
Business bank statements
Asset and liability position
Details of existing debts
Cash flow forecasts (for growth or expansion)
The goal is to demonstrate your business can comfortably service the debt.
Banks change their “appetite” for certain industries like a weather vane. One month a bank might love you, and the next month they’ve hit their internal cap and will decline even a perfect application. As brokers, we know who is “open for business” in your specific sector, saving you from ‘hard stops’ or ‘credit hits’ on your credit report from rejections.
Every lender has specific industries, risk profiles, and loan types they prefer. Matching your application to the right lender significantly improves approval likelihood, better pricing, faster approvals and flexibility.
This is a key advantage of using a broker with access to multiple lenders.
Put simply, Owner-Occupied you run your business out of the premises. Banks love this because the ‘tenant’ (you) is unlikely to evict themselves. You often get better rates and higher LVRs.
For Investment, you are a landlord leasing to a third party. The bank focuses on the strength of the lease, lease terms, and the tenant’s ability to pay.
Start with a full review of your current lending structure, including:
Interest rates and fees
Loan conditions and covenants
Security position
Loan terms and flexibility
From there, a broker can prepare a credit submission and approach alternative lenders to improve pricing, restructure facilities, and align your lending with your business goals.
We do. That is the Hardie Finance Group advantage. You focus on running your business; we handle the back-and-forth with the banks credit managers. We don’t just take the first offer. We play lenders against one another to ensure the final Credit Approval is in your favour, not theirs.
