Commercial Property Bridging Loans

Commercial property bridging finance solves a timing problem: the right property is available now, but the long-term finance that will hold it cannot be arranged before the settlement deadline. Banks take 8 to 12 weeks to process commercial property applications. Auction purchases, vendor-driven deadlines, off-market acquisitions, and competitive settlement timelines all require a faster solution. A bridging loan from a private lender completes the settlement, holds the asset, and gives the borrower time to arrange permanent finance on their schedule.

Who This Is For

• •Companies and trusts purchasing commercial property at auction where unconditional contracts are required
• •Borrowers with a settlement deadline shorter than a bank's processing time
• •Borrowers purchasing one commercial property before a related asset sale completes
• •Businesses that have identified a premises opportunity and need to move before their bank application is finalised
• •Borrowers whose bank has declined or cannot move in time and need to preserve the exchange
• •SMSFs needing a short-term LRBA facility while a specialist SMSF lender completes their assessment
• •Not available to natural persons borrowing in their personal name
• •Not available for residential property or any NCCP-regulated consumer lending

How Commercial Property Bridging Works

A commercial property bridging loan is a short-term first mortgage over the property being purchased. We settle the property purchase, the borrower holds the asset during the bridge term, and the exit is either refinance to a long-term commercial lender or sale. The bridge term is typically 3 to 12 months, calibrated to the time the borrower needs to arrange the permanent facility.

Our assessment focuses on the security property value, the LVR, and the exit strategy. For refinance exits, we look at the borrower's realistic path to a long-term facility: has the bank application already started, is the borrower waiting on financials to be prepared, or is there another timing constraint that defines the bridge term needed. For sale exits, we look at the property's market and the realistic sale timeline.

Submit your scenario with the property details, the settlement deadline, and the intended exit. Same-day indicative response. Letter of offer within 24 hours of agreed terms. Settlement from 24 to 72 hours for clean deals.

Three Commercial Bridging Scenarios We Have Recently Helped

A manufacturing company Pty Ltd won a commercial industrial unit at auction with a 42-day settlement. The company's bank needed 10 weeks for a commercial property assessment. We provided a 9-month bridging facility on the industrial unit at 66% LVR. The bank refinanced at month 7. Loan: $1.7 million.

A family trust was purchasing a retail investment property and had exchanged contracts. The vendor required settlement in 28 days. The trust's preferred lender could not commit in time. We assessed the asset and the trust structure. Letter of offer within 24 hours of enquiry. Settlement on the required date. Loan: $2.4 million, 12-month bridge. The trust refinanced to a non-bank commercial lender during the term.

A Pty Ltd company was simultaneously selling its existing commercial premises and purchasing a larger replacement. The replacement purchase settled first. We bridged the gap between the two settlements with a short-term loan secured by the replacement property. The sale of the existing premises discharged the bridge within 6 weeks. Loan: $3.1 million.

Speed and Process Advantage

Commercial bridging is where our speed is most directly valuable. We hold direct credit authority with no external committee. In-house valuers assess the security concurrently with underwriting. Indicative position the same day. Letter of offer within 24 hours. Settlement from 24 to 72 hours for clean deals. For borrowers in time-critical purchase situations, this timeline is the difference between completing the transaction and losing it.

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