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Buying your business premises
Eleven years of rent, and you still don’t own the door you unlock every morning.
Owner-occupier commercial property is assessed more favourably than investment, prices more sharply, and reaches higher LVRs than most business owners are told. The obstacle is almost never appetite. It is the deposit you were quoted.
Deal and policy dependent. Subject to lender criteria, security position and eligibility.
30 minutes with Priyank. No application, and no lender sees anything until you say so.
The arithmetic nobody runs for you
Your landlord did the maths once. Nobody has done it for you since.
Commercial LVRs run 65–80% as a published standard, so a $1.2 million premises is quoted at a $240,000 to $420,000 deposit. That is where most business owners stop, and it is why they are still paying rent.
Meanwhile the rent leaves every month, indexed annually, into someone else’s retirement. Over a ten-year lease on a modest industrial unit that is a number most owners have never actually added up.
Three things make this the strongest deal on our desk. Real property security beats goodwill on any credit desk. Owner-occupied is assessed more favourably than investment, with owner-occupier commercial pricing indicatively from around 6% per annum as at July 2026. And the asset can often sit inside your SMSF, leased back to your own trading entity — so the rent you are already paying funds your own retirement instead.
Rate context is indicative market data as at July 2026, reviewed quarterly. Not an offer or a quote.
What most people do
What business owners usually do instead.
Keep renting and review it next year
Costs nothing today. The rent review arrives anyway, and the asset price moved while you waited.
Ask the bank what you can borrow
You get one policy’s answer against your current security, which is almost always the lowest available number.
Wait until you have the full deposit saved
You are saving in a currency that devalues against the asset you are saving for.
Buy it personally and sort the structure later
The most expensive default in this entire category. Structure chosen after purchase is structure you pay stamp duty twice to fix.
Every one of those is a decision about timing. None of them is a decision about structure — and structure is what actually decides the deposit.
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.
Where the market is deep
This is not a Melbourne-only opportunity.
Adelaide
South Australia charges no stamp duty on commercial property. On a $1.2 million premises that is a material saving over every other state, and almost nobody advertising commercial finance says so. Sub-$2 million is one of the most competitive segments in the state — one 200 sqm Cumberland Park office drew more than 85 enquiries and 11 formal offers.
Tasmania
The commercial median has moved from $605,000 in 2021 to $1.6 million in the first half of 2026. Owner-occupiers accounted for around 29% of transactions where the buyer type was disclosed — a share that held steady while investor activity rose.
Geelong and Melbourne
Light industrial, warehousing, suburban office and healthcare consulting suites are where owner-occupier demand runs deepest and where lenders push LVRs highest. Sub-$5 million industrial is attracting private investors and SMSFs directly.
Market data drawn from published commercial agency and industry reporting, first half of 2026. Conditions change; we date-stamp and review this quarterly.
The SMSF pathway
Your fund owns it. Your business rents it. From you.
Business real property can be held inside a self-managed super fund and leased to your own trading entity at market rates. The rent you are already paying stops funding a landlord and starts funding your retirement.
The rent you already pay stops leaving. Business real property is one of the few related-party arrangements superannuation law specifically permits.
Residential lending inside super has closed. Commercial has not. New residential borrowing inside superannuation ended on 10 August 2026. Business real property — your practice, your warehouse, your consulting suite — remains fully available under the same limited recourse borrowing rules, and for business owners it was always the stronger strategy.
Not every non-residential property qualifies as business real property, and getting the test wrong inside super is expensive. We run these deals alongside your accountant and adviser, never around them.
We arrange credit. We do not advise on whether an SMSF or property strategy is right for you — that belongs with your licensed financial adviser and accountant.
Clients
In their words.
“I recently worked with Priyank and the Prevail Finance team to secure a loan for a commercial property, and the experience was top-tier from start to finish… Commercial finance can be notoriously complicated with a lot of moving parts, but he made everything easy to understand and navigated the documentation seamlessly.”
Mohan ManralCommercial freehold purchase“Priyank’s expertise as a finance specialist helped us secure an 80% loan for our warehouse when we were expecting much less, which has been a huge win for our family’s future.”
Hina PatelWarehouse purchase“We recently bought our new office under SMSF… Despite the inherent complexities of SMSF compliance, Prevail Finance made it feel straightforward because they genuinely know what they’re doing.”
Aneel KhowajaDirector, Think Higher · Property developer & investorEvery 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
- Trading businesses of two years or more, currently leasing
- Buying the premises you already occupy, or relocating into one you own
- Purchases from $400,000 to $5 million and above
- Light industrial, warehousing, suburban office, healthcare and consulting suites
- Buyers with no debt at all — a clean credit story is an advantage, not a gap
- Buyers who want the asset inside their SMSF
We’re not, and we’ll tell you in the first call
- Speculative commercial investment with no occupancy plan
- Specialised assets with no alternative use and no tenant
- Businesses in arrears, default or distress
- Buyers unwilling to involve their accountant on an entity or SMSF structure
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 commercial property in Australia?
The published standard is 20–35%, with LVRs of 65–80%. A strong owner-occupier on quality industrial typically reaches the top of that band. With the right structure and security we fund up to 100% on business and commercial transactions with no additional security. Subject to lender criteria, security position and eligibility.
Is it cheaper to buy my business premises than rent?
Often, once you count what rent does over a full lease term rather than per month, and once the asset is on your balance sheet rather than your landlord’s. It depends on the purchase price, the rent, the deposit you can structure and your holding period. We model it properly in your Action Plan rather than assuming the answer.
Are owner-occupier commercial rates better than investment rates?
Yes. Owner-occupied commercial is assessed more favourably than investment and prices more sharply — indicatively from around 6% per annum as at July 2026. Rates move; this is market context, not a quote.
Can my SMSF buy my business premises?
Yes, where the property qualifies as business real property. Your fund can own it and lease it to your trading entity at market rates. Residential borrowing inside super ended on 10 August 2026, but commercial remains fully available. We run these alongside your accountant and adviser.
Do I pay stamp duty on commercial property?
It varies by state. South Australia charges no stamp duty on commercial property, which is a material advantage on an Adelaide purchase. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania all apply duty on different scales. Your Action Plan sets out the figure for your state.
What if I have no existing debt?
That is a green light, not a gap. Real property security plus trading history is one of the cleanest credit stories a lender can be shown.
My landlord is selling and I have first right of refusal. How fast can you move?
That is the single most common trigger for this work and the timeframes are usually tight. Call rather than emailing — the first conversation takes seven minutes and we will tell you immediately whether the window is workable.
Next step
Rent is someone else’s retirement plan. Your premises could be yours.
Seven minutes on the phone to start. If your landlord is selling, call — don’t email.
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