Commercial lending
Commercial lending is negotiated, not advertised
There is no rate sheet. Pricing, term and covenants are set case by case on the tenant, the lease and the borrower — which means the presentation of the file genuinely changes the offer.
65–70%
Typical maximum LVR on commercial security
3–5 yr
Usual term before review or refinance
1.5x
Interest cover ratio most lenders require
9
Commercial funders on panel
Who is this for?
Four commercial situations
Owner-occupied and investment are assessed very differently. So is a single tenant against a multi-tenanted building.
01
Buying your own business premises
Owner-occupied commercial is the most favourably assessed. Lenders look at your business trading figures rather than a lease, and pricing is usually sharper than investment security.
02
Buying a tenanted investment
The lease is the asset. Term remaining, tenant quality, rent review mechanism and any make-good obligations all move the valuation and the LVR the lender will accept.
03
Refinancing an expiring facility
Commercial loans have review dates rather than thirty-year certainty. Starting six months before expiry is the difference between negotiating and accepting.
04
Specialised or vacant security
Childcare, medical, service stations, vacant premises. Fewer lenders, lower LVR, and the valuation approach shifts from comparable sales to income capitalisation.
Why Lending Institute?
Why the same deal gets three different offers
Commercial credit is discretionary. Two lenders can look at the identical building and differ by fifteen per cent on LVR and a full per cent on rate.
01
We read the credit policy, not the rate sheet
Specialist lending is decided on policy detail — how a lender treats retained profits, whether a corporate trustee is acceptable, what liquidity an SMSF must retain. We track those rules across the panel and check them before we submit.
02
The file is built for the assessor
A complex file presented well is often approved where the same file, submitted raw, is declined. Financials, structure diagrams and a written explanation go in with the application, not after a query.
03
We tell you early when the answer is no
If your file will not place at a sensible rate, you will hear that in the first conversation rather than after three weeks and a credit enquiry. That honesty costs us applications and keeps our approval rate where it is.
04
Accreditation across the specialist panel
SMSF, commercial, bridging, alt-doc and credit-impaired funders each require separate accreditation and volume to maintain. We hold and use all of them.
How it works
Understand → Compare → Apply → Settle
01
Day 0
Tell us the whole story
Including the decline, the credit event or the structure you think is a problem. Nothing is placed until we understand it.
Credit impact — none
02
Days 1–10
Structure and match
Financials reviewed, the entity structure confirmed, and the file matched to funders whose policy it genuinely fits.
Credit impact — soft enquiry only
03
Weeks 2–3
Submit with the argument attached
The application goes in with financials, add-back workings and a written explanation for the assessor.
Credit impact — enquiry recorded
04
Weeks 4–8
Settle
Specialist files run longer. We manage valuations, legal review of trust deeds and the settlement booking.
Credit impact — account reported
Sanity-check the numbers first
Model the repayment on the proposed facility and test it against net rental income before you approach anyone.
Open the calculatorsCommon questions
Commercial lending questions
If yours is not here, ask it directly — you will get a straight answer, not a callback form.
Ask a broker →Commercial property is less liquid, valuations move with the income rather than with the housing market, and a vacancy can eliminate the cash flow entirely. Sixty-five to seventy per cent is standard, occasionally seventy-five for strong owner-occupied files with a solid trading history behind them.
It is net rental income divided by the interest cost, and most lenders want at least 1.5 times measured at an assessment rate above the actual rate. On tenanted commercial it is more often the binding constraint than LVR — plenty of deals clear the LVR test and fail on cover.
Yes, and business real property is the one category an SMSF can lease back to a member business at market rent. It is a common and legitimate structure for business owners buying their own premises, but the limited recourse arrangement has to be established correctly before exchange.
The lender reassesses the facility — valuation, covenants, your financials and the lease position. They can reprice, reduce the limit or require repayment. Starting the refinance conversation six months out is what turns a review into a negotiation rather than an ultimatum.
Yes. Lender commission on commercial lending is lower and the work is substantially greater — assembling a credit submission, approaching several lenders in parallel and negotiating terms. The fee is quoted in writing and agreed before any application, and it is typically recovered several times over in the pricing we negotiate.
Related services
Often looked at alongside this
Supporting paragraph for this section.
Get started
Have the deal presented properly
Send us the lease, the tenant and the numbers. We will build the credit submission and take it to several lenders at once.
Parallel approach
Three to four lenders, so offers can be compared.
Fees negotiated
Establishment and line fees, every time.
Fee quoted upfront
In writing, agreed before any application.