Private Lender for Transport and Warehousing Businesses

Capital that moves at the speed the freight does

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Experts in strategic, short-term secured finance

Aerial view of Sydney Harbour and the CBD
24hrsFast funding solutions
$250K-$10MLoan range
9.7% p.aInterest rates starting from
1-24 monthsShort term funding

ExcellentRated 5 out of 5 on Google

Rated 5 out of 5Jason V

Hands down, the best private lenders in the biz

Gino, Alec and Finn are exceptional at what they do. Top tier communication and transparent service.

Rated 5 out of 5Rhowell Dela Rosa

Every settlement has been smooth

Gino and the team at Secured Lending are our go-to when a deal needs to move fast or fall outside bank criteria.

Rated 5 out of 5Rory Mcgrath

Always my top choice for nearly all private lending scenarios

I run and operate a private lending brokerage and have worked with Mark and the team for years.

Rated 5 out of 5Luke Egan

Speed to market on lending advances second to none

The owner is also one of best commentators on LinkedIn calling out poor lending and recovery practices.

Rated 5 out of 5amal maharaj

True professionals in the non bank lending space

Straight forward application and assessment process with clear communication till loan settlement.

Rated 5 out of 5Sam Algeri

Excellent service, quick approvals and seamless settlements

The team at Secured Lending, particularly Gino and Finn, are fantastic to work with.

Rated 5 out of 5sebastian wright

Speed, reliability, transparency

Exceptional team. Exceptional Service. Loved working with the team at Secured Lending.

Rated 5 out of 5Jordan Thomas

Gino & Finn are the best in the business

Quick and painless to deal with, keep up the great work SL team!

Rated 5 out of 5Wayne McCarthy

Always willing to think outside the box to get deals done

We've had a great experience working with Secured Lending.

Rated 5 out of 5JP G

Quick, responsive and reasonable

With all the shady characters in the private lending market, its refreshing to find good people to deal with.

Rated 5 out of 5Joel Togo

Always thorough on assessment and will give you a prompt answer

With clients that are in time sensitive situations, this is crucial.

Rated 5 out of 5David Pruscino

Always professional and supportive

It's a pleasure dealing with the Secured team.

Rated 5 out of 5Monica Monsigneur

A professional and common sense lender who delivers

Rated 5 out of 5Thomas de Fegely

Great options in the private space

Have been dealing with Finn from Secured Lending, he has been very responsive.

Rated 5 out of 5Andrew Soo

A very reliable funding partner

Highly recommended.

Rated 5 out of 5Phil Boyle

Very efficient, responsive

Finn was a great help to assist in a very timely manner.

Secured Lending is a private, non-bank lender. We fund trucking, freight, courier and warehousing operators against property, either the depot or warehouse where it is owned, or the director's home or investment property where the yard is leased. The through-line in this sector is simple: the work is done and invoiced long before the customer pays, while fuel, wages and rego fall due on time every week, and a bank serviceability model reads that gap as risk rather than as the ordinary shape of a freight business. Loans run from $250,000 to $10,000,000, secured by a first or second mortgage, and because we lend our own funds a complete enquiry gets a decision in hours. We lend against property, not against trucks or equipment.

Who We Help

  • Trucking and freight operators carrying fuel, wages and tolls while invoices sit on 45 or 60 day terms
  • Owner-operators with equity in the family home and a contract they need capital to take on
  • Fleet operators funding an expansion, a replacement cycle, or a bigger contract than the current cash position supports
  • Warehousing, depot and distribution businesses buying, expanding or fitting out a site
  • Last-mile, courier and parcel operators scaling through a volume surge
  • Transport businesses carrying an ATO debt that is compounding while the receivables ledger fills up
  • Logistics operators whose bank facility has been reviewed, cut or not renewed
  • Asset-rich operators declined on servicing despite holding real equity in property

How We Can Help You

  • We assess the property and the exit, so a receivables ledger stretched across long payment terms does not stop the file
  • We lend against property, the depot or the warehouse where it is owned, or the director's property, and release that capital for whatever the business needs, including a truck purchase
  • We hold our own funds and our own credit authority, so a decision takes hours and settlement can happen within 24 hours
  • We take a first or second mortgage, so an existing facility does not need to be broken to release equity
  • Terms run from 1 to 24 months, and most borrowers are with us for 3 to 6 while the exit completes
  • Rates start from 9.7% p.a., interest only for the term

Transport and Warehousing Finance Scenarios We Fund

Transport lending is not one product. An owner-operator taking on a new contract needs a different structure to a distribution business buying a second warehouse. Below are the scenarios we are asked for most often.

Trucking and freight operators

Fuel goes in the tank today, the driver is paid this week, and the invoice for the run is paid in seven weeks. Scale the freight task up and that gap widens with it, which is why growth in this sector so often feels like a cash squeeze.

The fleet keeps rolling and the drivers keep being paid while the run you have already done is still sitting unpaid in the ledger. The facility is short by design and clears from the receivables as they land, so a bigger freight task does not have to wait for the ledger to catch up with it.

  • The fleet keeps rolling while the completed runs are still unpaid
  • Fuel, wages and rego are met on the week they fall due
  • A larger freight task can be taken on before the ledger catches up
  • No P and L or tax return required for an asset-based assessment
  • No security taken over your debtor book
  • Exit is the receivables ledger or a refinance

Owner-operators

One truck, one operator, and a contract on the table that would change the year. The equity is usually in the family home rather than in a commercial yard, and the capital needed is small against what that property is worth.

The contract gets signed rather than turned down, and the run starts on the date the customer needs it. The capital needed is modest against the equity already sitting there, and the exit is the contract income or a refinance once the trading history supports it.

  • The contract is taken on instead of turned down
  • The work starts before the first invoice is ever paid
  • Second mortgage sits behind an existing home loan, which stays in place
  • One truck and one contract is a fundable position
  • Lending to sole director companies and family trusts
  • Exit is contract income or a refinance to a longer-term lender

Fleet operators

A bigger contract needs more prime movers, more trailers and more drivers before the first invoice is raised. Replacement cycles land on their own schedule, and a good unit at the right price rarely waits.

The units get bought while they are still available and the contract gets taken on rather than handed to someone else. One point worth being precise about: we lend against property, never against the trucks, so the fleet stays clear and a common exit is a refinance into asset finance once the units are on the road and earning.

  • The extra prime movers and trailers are bought while they are still available
  • The new contract is taken on rather than handed to a competitor
  • Drivers are hired and paid before the first invoice is raised
  • A replacement cycle does not get deferred into a breakdown
  • Funds a fleet expansion, a replacement cycle or a contract ramp-up
  • Exit is contract income, an asset finance refinance, or a bank refinance

Warehousing and depots

A distribution business outgrows its space, a landlord will not renew, or a neighbouring site comes up and the racking, the dock levellers and the fit-out all need funding before a single pallet moves through it.

The site is bought and the fit-out is finished before the pallets need somewhere to go, so the operation moves across without a gap in the middle of it. Industrial and commercial sites are assessed by our own valuers, which is why an unusual property does not stall the file.

  • The neighbouring site is bought before someone else takes it
  • Racking, dock levellers and fit-out funded before the first pallet moves
  • A landlord who will not renew does not put the operation on the street
  • Our own valuers assess the site directly, so an unusual property is not a problem
  • Funds a site purchase, an expansion or a fit-out
  • Exit is a bank refinance, a lease-up, or a sale of the old site

Bridging a depot or warehouse purchase

The new site is under contract and the old one has not sold yet, or a longer-term facility is weeks away from settling while the vendor wants the deposit and a short settlement. Losing the site usually means losing the contract that justified it.

The purchase completes on the vendor's timeline, so the site is kept and the contract that justified it is kept with it. Bridging is a core speciality here, and the term is set to the event that repays it, whether that is the sale of the old site or the term facility landing.

  • The new site is not lost while the old one is still on the market
  • The deposit is paid and a short settlement can be met
  • The contract that justified the site is protected
  • The outgoing site can be sold on its merits, not against a deadline
  • Covers the gap between a purchase and a sale
  • Exit is the sale of the existing site or a term refinance

ATO tax debt

Transport is one of the largest categories of ATO debt in the country, and it is easy to see why. PAYG and GST fall due on a fixed calendar while the money that pays them is still sitting in the receivables ledger, and once a payment plan breaks the pressure escalates quickly, with a director penalty notice a real prospect.

The debt is cleared in a single payment, the escalation stops, and the trucks keep running while the business repays on a defined timeline of its own. In most cases the cost of the facility is less than the penalties and the recovery action that would otherwise apply.

  • Clears the ATO position in a single payment
  • Stops penalty interest compounding on the balance
  • The ATO stops escalating and the recovery pressure comes off
  • The fleet keeps running and the drivers keep being paid
  • Suitable where a payment plan has already been broken
  • Exit is the receivables ledger, a sale, or a bank refinance

Refinancing off a bank

Banks have tightened their appetite for transport, and the result lands on operators who have done nothing wrong. A facility is not renewed, an overdraft limit is cut after a fuel-price quarter, or a covenant is breached on paper while the trucks are still running and the depot is still there.

Control of the timeline goes back to the operator, so the move to a longer-term lender happens when the business is ready for it rather than on a bank review calendar. The trucks keep running, the depot stays where it is, and the exit is that refinance.

  • Refinances an expiring, reviewed or non-renewed facility
  • Replaces a facility after a covenant breach or a cut limit
  • The depot is kept and the fleet keeps running through the transition
  • The move to a longer-term lender happens on the operator's timeline
  • Suitable where the trading is sound but the file no longer fits a credit policy
  • Exit is a refinance to a longer-term lender, or a property sale

Working capital between invoice and payment

Fuel, wages, tolls, rego, insurance and maintenance fall due every week without exception. The invoices covering them are paid on the customer's terms, and a fuel spike or a single slow-paying client can turn a profitable month into a cash flow problem.

The fuel card works, the drivers are paid, and the fleet keeps rolling while the invoices sit on the customer's terms rather than yours. The facility is short by design and repaid from the income when it arrives.

  • Covers fuel, wages, tolls, rego, insurance and maintenance
  • The drivers are paid on the day they expect to be paid
  • A fuel spike or one slow-paying client does not stall the fleet
  • A contract is not lost because a receivable is late
  • Second mortgage keeps the existing first facility intact
  • Exit is the receivables ledger or a contracted income stream

Our Loan Products

  • First mortgage: the cleanest position, used where a depot, warehouse or director's property is unencumbered or an existing facility is being refinanced in full
  • Second mortgage: sits behind an existing first, so a bank facility or a fixed rate on the home does not have to be broken to release equity for the business
  • Bridging loans: covers the gap between a site purchase and a sale, or between a cost incurred this week and the invoice that pays for it in seven
  • Caveat loans: our fastest product, lodging a caveat rather than registering a full mortgage, for genuinely urgent and short repayment windows

Related Reading

Bad Credit Finance for Transport Operators

A freight business can be busy, profitable and still carrying arrears from the month a major customer paid late. We lend against the property the business or its directors own, not against the trucks, and we assess the equity inside 70% LVR. Defaults, ATO debt and a recent bank decline are all normal on the files we fund in this sector.

"A freight business can be busy, profitable, and short of cash in the same week, because the money is in the ledger rather than in the account. A bank reads that as risk. We read it as timing. It is the difference between taking the new contract and handing it to someone else, and between the drivers being paid on Friday or not."

Gino Tabila

Gino Tabila

Associate Director

Recently Asked Questions

Yes. We refinance a lender after it has appointed a receiver as well as before, and we lend against property, not against the trucks, so the trucks do not need to be free of equipment finance. Our loan repays the bank at settlement, within 70% of our valuation of the depot. Ask the bank for a written payout figure that includes the receiver's costs to a specific settlement date, and ask your solicitor to explain the receiver's role until then. Call us the day you have that figure, because interest and the receiver's costs are added to the debt while the appointment continues.

Yes. Your house secures the loan; the prime movers are never the security. The business receives the funds and pays out the balloons, and the trucks are then owned outright. The usual exit is a refinance of the trucks with an asset financier once they are clear, or the business's trading income over the term.

Yes. The depot property secures the loan, never the contract or the trucks, and the business uses the funds to buy the trucks and pay the drivers. The exit is usually the contract income, or a refinance into asset finance once the new trucks are earning. Send us the signed contract with the enquiry, because it shows us the income that repays the loan.

No. One home can be enough, where 70% of its value, less what is owing on it, covers the debt. A second property can be added as additional security if one home is not enough. The company receives the loan funds and pays the ATO within the 21 days on the notice. We can still lend after a director penalty notice has been issued.

Yes. Our terms start from one month, and $350,000 is within our range. The loan is secured by property owned by the business or a director, never by the trucks being registered. The exit is the business's trading income over the three months, or a refinance. Show us the monthly figures that repay it.

Yes, the warehouse property can secure the loan. The liquidator's payment cannot be the only exit, because nobody can tell you how much it will be or when. Plan the repayment around trading, a refinance or a property sale, and treat anything the liquidator pays as a bonus. The business receives the funds and pays the drivers.

Yes. 70% of $1,100,000 is $770,000, which leaves $320,000 after the $450,000 owing, so a $250,000 loan fits. Your business is the borrower and your home is the security, not the new truck. Tell us how the loan will be repaid, for example a refinance into asset finance once the second truck is earning.

Yes. A first mortgage over the depot property, up to 70% of its value, can repay the bank, and we assess the property and the exit rather than the loss year. The usual exit is a refinance to a longer-term lender once the accounts recover, or a sale of the depot. Call us early in the 90 days, because the bank's discharge paperwork takes time.

Yes. The warehouse property secures the loan, and the refrigeration is what the money buys. The exit is usually the client's contract income or a refinance once the cold store is running. Our in-house team values the warehouse property directly, including one with specialised fit-out.

Yes. The depot property secures the loan, never the vans or the contracts you are buying. We decide in hours, so you can commit without a finance clause. The usual exit is a refinance once the combined business has a set of accounts, or a refinance of the vans with an asset financier.

Yes. We decide in hours and can settle within 24 hours once terms are agreed, which leaves room inside 28 days. The business receives the funds and pays the drivers. The loan is secured by the depot property or a director's home, and repaid from trading or a refinance.

Not directly. We are a property-secured lender, so the security for the loan is real property, a depot, a warehouse, or the director's home or investment property. What we can do is release capital against that property, and the business is then free to use those funds to buy a truck, a trailer or plant. The vehicle is not the security. This is a different product to chattel or asset finance, and for many operators it is faster and does not tie the loan to the asset itself.

Yes, and this is the most common pattern in transport. Where the yard or warehouse is leased, security comes from the director's home or an investment property. It is a standard structure in this space and it does not weaken the application.

No. Long payment terms are the ordinary shape of a freight business, not a red flag. We assess the security value and the exit strategy. If the equity is in the property and the repayment plan is credible, the timing of the income is a structuring question rather than a credit question.

We lend from $250,000 to $10,000,000, up to 70% LVR against the property security. Loan terms run from 1 to 24 months, with most borrowers using the facility for 3 to 6 months while the exit completes.

We make a decision in hours rather than days, and settlement within 24 hours is achievable on a clean file with clear title and a defined exit. We lend our own funds and hold our own credit authority, which is the practical reason the timeline looks the way it does.

Yes. ATO debt is one of the most common reasons transport operators come to us, and transport is one of the largest ATO debt categories in the country. We clear the position in a single payment secured against property, which stops the penalty interest compounding, and the facility is repaid from trading or a refinance. We can act where a payment plan has already been broken.

It needs to be specific and achievable inside the loan term. In transport and warehousing the strongest exits are the conversion of a receivables ledger, the sale of an existing site, a contracted income stream, a refinance into asset finance once new units are earning, or a refinance to a longer-term lender where the pathway is demonstrable. A general intention to refinance at some point is not an exit strategy.

Yes. We lend to Pty Ltd companies, discretionary and unit trusts, and SMSFs. This is business purpose lending only. We do not lend to individuals borrowing in their personal name for personal, domestic or household purposes.

No, because the fleet was never the security. We lend against property, not against vehicles, so existing chattel finance sits outside the assessment entirely. What we need is a residential, commercial or industrial property with equity inside 70% LVR and a clear plan for repaying us. Defaults on the existing facilities do not change that.

Yes. We lend against property, not against the trucks, and we have pages for industrial property purchases, ATO debt and payroll.

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Why Secured Lending?

✓Australian private lender, $500M+ funded
✓We use our own funds for fast decisions
✓24-hour settlements, loans from $250k
✓Rates from 9.7% p.a. | Terms 1–24 months

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