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Buying a business
The deposit you were quoted was set by what a bank can secure. Not by what you can afford.
The largest business-for-sale portal in Australia tells buyers to budget $200,000 to $330,000 in cash against an average-priced business. That advice is honest, and it describes one funding structure. Not the only one.
Subject to lender criteria, security position and eligibility. Member, Australian Institute of Business Brokers.
30 minutes with Priyank. No application, and no lender sees anything until you say so.
Why the number is that high
A bank can secure bricks. It cannot secure goodwill.
Most of what you are buying — the customer list, the contracts, the trading history, the reason the business earns what it earns — cannot be repossessed. So the lender funds the part it can hold, and asks you to find the rest in cash.
That is not a judgement on the business. It is a limitation of how the loan was structured.
Which makes the deposit a structuring problem, and structuring problems have solutions. Property you already own, the right entity, the right lender class, and security positioned deliberately rather than by default.
Under 5% of small business lending in Australia is unsecured, and around half is secured against residential property. The security question is not a detail of the deal. It is the deal.
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia data on small business credit.
What most people do
Four ways buyers close the gap. All four leave the same thing untouched.
Go to your own bank
Fast, and they know you. One credit policy, one view of your security, one answer. If it is no, you have learned nothing you can act on.
Use a broker who shops it around
More lenders see it — but the same file goes to all of them. Same questions, same answer, four more times.
Find the cash
A bigger deposit, family money, sell an asset. It works, and it is the most expensive capital you will ever use.
Buy something smaller
The one option nobody calls a decision. It is usually the one people take.
Each of those changes who reads your file. None changes the file — and none tells you whether the business is worth the asking price.
Before you commit
Agree on what a real answer has to do.
Change what the lender sees
The structure and the security — not just the letterhead on the application.
Look at everything you hold, at once
This should not be structured in isolation from the facilities you already carry.
Tell you the truth before you spend money
Including when the answer is that you should not proceed.
Put its own money behind the answer
Anyone will promise you an outcome. Fewer will refund one.
A broker who cannot do all four is an interest-rate comparison with a phone number.
What we actually are
Not an interest-rate broker. A structuring firm.
Before we fund it
We check it’s worth funding.
Forensic due diligence. We go through what you are buying the way a lender never will — because a lender only asks whether the debt can be repaid, not whether the business should be bought. It runs on three things most brokers do not have.
Industry benchmarks
We draw on an Australian IBISWorld subscription, ABS statistics and AIBB BizStats transaction records — the research banks, valuers and accountants rely on. Before you commit, we test the vendor’s numbers against how that industry actually performs: real margins, real outlook, and the pressures a seller has no reason to raise.
An owner’s read of the books
Priyank bought a hospitality business — the thinnest margins and worst survival odds in the country — rebuilt it to profit in eighteen months, and sold it for two and a half times what he paid. He does not read a P&L hopefully.
A credit assessor’s read of the risk
Years assessing files at Bank of Melbourne and La Trobe Financial on portfolios above $5 million. The questions a credit committee would ask, asked while you can still act on the answers.
A client came to us to fund a business advertised at $1.2 million. The documents and questions we required surfaced information the buyer did not have. We assisted to negotiate the same business for $650,000.
That is $550,000, found before settlement, by asking questions.
Shared with the client’s consent. Outcomes depend on the individual transaction and what the documents disclose.
The same work strengthens your application. Independent industry data in the credit submission answers the assessor’s first question before it is asked: is this sector one we want exposure to?
The cash gap
With the workings shown.
Nobody should publish a number like this without showing how it was built.
Between $162,500 and $292,500 you do not have to find.
Show the workings
| Structure on a $650,000 business | Deposit required |
|---|---|
| Market standard, 70% LVR | $195,000 |
| Market standard, 50% LVR | $325,000 |
| Structured at 95% | $32,500 |
Deposit only. Excludes stamp duty (which varies by state and is nil on commercial property in South Australia), legal, valuation, application and due diligence costs, and working capital. Market standard LVRs of 50–70% are drawn from published Australian industry guidance and reviewed quarterly. The LVR achieved on any transaction depends on lender criteria, your security position and eligibility. See the full cost of getting in.
Clients
In their words.
“He also helped me secure a business loan to purchase a new business.”
Mukesh SharmaBusiness owner & seasoned property investor · seven years with Prevail“They went way beyond what a standard finance broker would do, managing to secure a massive exception with NAB to approve us on just a single year of business financials.”
Saurabh PatelBusiness owner“He walked us through multiple options, taking the time to explain different lenders, interest rates, and structures so we felt confident we were making the right choice.”
Jignasa PatelAccountant, self-employed applicantEvery quote is verbatim from a published Google review. Individual outcomes depend on the client’s circumstances, security position and lender criteria at the time.
Who it’s for
This is not for everyone. Deliberately.
We’re a fit if
- Acquisitions from $400,000
- Buyers who already own property
- Trading businesses with two years of history — or one year, where the exception is winnable
- Manufacturing, automotive, building and construction, engineering, transport and professional practices
- Buyers taking the freehold along with the business
- Buyers who want the business checked before they commit
We’re not, and we’ll tell you in the first call
- Hospitality without a freehold attached
- Purchases under $250,000 with no property behind them
- Start-ups with no industry experience, security or trading history
- Businesses already in arrears, default or distress
- Anyone who will not complete due diligence
Turning away the wrong deal is how we stay fast on the right ones.
Straight answers
Fair questions.
How much deposit do I need to buy a business in Australia?
Published guidance puts it at 30–50% of the purchase price, because most lenders cap LVR at 50–70% against goodwill. That is accurate for an unstructured deal. Where a buyer holds property and the security is positioned properly, we fund up to 100% on business and commercial transactions. Subject to lender criteria, security position and eligibility.
Can I buy a business with no deposit at all?
Sometimes — where you hold sufficient equity elsewhere and the business supports servicing. It is not the norm, and we will tell you in the first conversation whether it is realistic for you rather than after you have spent money finding out.
Will a bank lend against goodwill?
Generally not, or not much. That is the entire reason deposit expectations are high. The work is finding security a lender will accept without you writing a cheque for the difference.
Do I need two years of business financials?
That is standard policy, not law. Exceptions are granted where the file makes the case properly — one of our clients was approved by NAB on a single year of financials.
Can I use the equity in my home to buy a business?
Usually yes, and around half of Australian small business credit is secured against residential property. How it is structured matters enormously: done carelessly it ties your home to the business permanently and caps everything you do afterwards.
How long does it take to buy a business?
Six to fourteen weeks from enquiry to settlement is typical. Files we have engineered have reached unconditional approval in 36 and 48 hours; the vendor’s timeline and due diligence usually set the pace, not the lender.
What if the business is overpriced?
We will tell you. It is the most valuable thing we do, and it is why our due diligence runs before our funding.
Which industries do you focus on?
Automotive, manufacturing, building and construction, engineering, transport and professional practices — sectors that are asset-backed, which is what makes a high-LVR structure achievable. We generally decline hospitality unless a freehold is included.
Next step
Bring the business you’re looking at. We’ll tell you what it’s worth, then fund it.
Seven minutes on the phone to start. Nothing lodged, nothing on your credit file.
30 minutes with Priyank. No application, and no lender sees anything until you say so. You’ll know whether we can fund it — and either way, you leave with a plan.
ACLACL 509527Held directly, not leasedMemberships verifiable with each body