A loan to buy a business, fast enough to secure the deal

A loan to buy a business fast is short-term acquisition funding secured by property, so the lender can approve it without waiting weeks to pick through the target business’s accounts. It can cover the deposit, the full price, stock on settlement day or a gap until a bank’s acquisition loan comes through. We fund purchases from $20,000 up to $5,000,000, secured over a house, unit or commercial building, and an approval often lands the day your details arrive.

Can you get a loan to buy a business fast?

Yes. If you have property equity, you can usually have an approval within a day and the money at settlement within a few business days. That’s quick enough to meet most vendors’ timetables and fast enough to put you ahead of a buyer who is still waiting on a bank.

Speed matters in business sales. Good businesses at fair prices attract more than one buyer, and the vendor will often pick the offer most likely to settle over the one with the highest number. A buyer with an approval in hand looks like a buyer who will turn up on the day.

What we don’t do is rush your checks. The money can be ready fast; your due diligence still needs to be done properly, and we’d rather settle a week later than fund a purchase you’ll regret.

How does business acquisition finance from a private lender work?

Private business acquisition finance works by lending against property you or a guarantor already own, rather than against the business being bought. Banks tend to lend on the target’s historic profits and goodwill, which takes time to analyse and is often discounted heavily. We look at the security property, the purchase contract and the exit.

There are three common structures:

• Full purchase funding. The loan covers the price, stamp duty where it applies, and settlement costs, secured by a first or second mortgage.
• Deposit and bridge. The loan pays the deposit now and covers the balance until a long-term lender settles. See bridging loans.
• Top-up funding. A bank or vendor covers most of the price and our loan fills the shortfall, often by second mortgage or caveat.

If the business you’re buying is part of a franchise network, the franchisor’s approval and disclosure process adds its own steps and timing; our franchise loans page covers that. And if you’re starting from scratch rather than buying an operating business, see start-up business loans instead.

Whichever you choose, it’s for the business purchase and running costs, not for personal spending. Every structure we offer is listed on our products page.

Can you borrow just the deposit for buying a business?

Yes, borrowing the deposit for buying a business is one of the most common requests we see. Vendors usually want a deposit when contracts are exchanged, and the buyer’s cash is often tied up in a home, another business or an investment property that hasn’t sold.

A caveat or second mortgage over that property can release the deposit in days. The exit is then simple: the deposit loan is repaid at settlement when the main funding arrives, or soon after from the sale of the other asset. Because the term is short, the total cost stays contained. When you know the deposit amount and date, request a deposit approval and we’ll tell you the same day whether it works.

What does the vendor’s timetable mean for your finance?

The vendor’s timetable sets the pace, so line your finance up to it from the day you make an offer. A typical sale runs like this:

1. Offer accepted. You agree the price and the settlement date in principle.
2. Contract issued. The vendor’s solicitor sends the contract, often with a deposit due on exchange and a finance condition period.
3. Approval. You send us the contract and the property details; approval usually comes the same day.
4. Due diligence. You and your accountant go through the books, leases and liabilities while the finance is being documented.
5. Exchange. You sign, pay the deposit and, if comfortable, remove the finance condition.
6. Settlement. Funds go to the vendor’s representative on the agreed date and the keys are handed over.

Leaving finance until after exchange is the classic mistake. It turns a finance condition into a countdown you can’t control.

The smarter order is to have the security property assessed while you’re still negotiating. You don’t need a signed contract for us to look at the title, the existing loan and a value estimate. By the time the price is agreed, the only thing left to confirm is the contract itself, and the approval can follow within hours.

What checks should you finish before settlement?

You should finish a full due diligence review covering licences, the lease, assets, liabilities and the financial records. The government’s business.gov.au guide to buying an existing business recommends looking at three to five years of tax returns, BAS, balance sheets, profit and loss records and cash flow statements, checking that licences and permits are current, and confirming the landlord will approve the lease transfer.

It also flags checking the Personal Property Securities Register for debts owing on the assets you’re buying. Equipment that turns out to be under someone else’s finance is an expensive surprise. Ask your accountant, too, whether the sale can be treated as a GST-free going concern, because getting that wrong changes how much cash you need on the day.

None of this has to slow your finance. We approve on the property and the contract; your advisers do the checks in parallel.

Which exit works after you’ve bought the business?

The usual exit is a long-term loan once you own and run the business, but there are others. Choose the one that suits your situation:

Our guide on exit strategy explains how to make each one credible, and private first mortgages covers the longer-term option.

Illustrative example: buying a mechanical workshop

Illustrative example: a mechanic agrees to buy a well-established workshop for $650,000, including equipment, plus stock at valuation of about $50,000. The vendor has another buyer waiting and wants a $65,000 deposit on exchange within five days and settlement in four weeks. The buyer’s bank is interested but needs six to eight weeks.

The buyer owns a home worth $1,400,000 with $300,000 owing. We approve $720,000 by second mortgage the day the title is confirmed, covering the full price, stock and costs. The deposit is paid on day four and the purchase settles on time. Six months later, the bank refinances the loan once it has seen the buyer’s first two quarters of trading.

Round figures, for illustration only. The pattern of private money winning the deal and bank money taking over later is common.

What stops a business purchase loan settling on time?

Missing documents and late surprises stop it. The most common: a co-owner of the security property who hasn’t agreed, a lease transfer the landlord hasn’t approved, a stock figure much higher than expected, or a change in the purchasing entity after approval. Each of those means new documents, and new documents mean a fresh round of signing. Settlement dates in business sales are often less flexible than in property sales, because staff, suppliers and the lease handover are all scheduled around them.

Avoid them by naming the buying entity early, involving the property’s co-owners from the first call, and keeping us updated as due diligence turns things up. Short-term private funding costs more than a bank loan, so the goal is to win the deal now and move to cheaper long-term finance once the business is yours.

Ready to make your offer stick?

There’s no credit check when you first ask us, and your enquiry stays here instead of being passed around to a string of lenders. A lender who has funded business purchases against tight vendor deadlines reads the contract and gives you a fast, direct answer, including a straight no if it doesn’t stack up. Give us accurate figures for the price, deposit and property so the first answer is reliable. Send your business purchase details or call 1300 852 150.

Written by the BizLoansFast lending team · Updated 2026-10-05