Fitout Finance for Shop, Cafe, Office and Workshop Fitouts
Finance shop, cafe, office, dental, medical and workshop fitouts. Mix of asset finance for tangible items and unsecured business loans for soft costs.
Subject to lender assessment and approval. ACL 384704.
Fitout Finance — Quick Guide
- Tangible assets — chattel mortgage on equipment, signage, joinery
- Soft costs — unsecured business loan for design, labour, install
- Term — 2–5 years typical
- Quick decisions — auto-decision platforms common
- Best for — hospitality, retail, dental/medical, professional offices
- Tax — depreciation + interest deductible (confirm)
Fitout Types We Finance
From cafe builds to medical practice fitouts.
Hospitality Fitouts
Cafes, restaurants, bars — kitchens, joinery, fitout and signage.
- Equipment via chattel mortgage
- Soft costs via unsecured loan
- Often combined with commercial property finance
Retail Fitouts
Shopfit joinery, lighting, fixtures, point-of-sale.
- Tangible items easy to asset-finance
- Branding and design typically unsecured
- Lease term + fitout amortisation should align
Office & Professional
Office fitouts, partitions, joinery, IT and AV.
- Often combined with IT equipment finance
- Operating lease an option for IT
- Smaller fitouts done quickly via unsecured
Dental, Medical & Allied Health
Surgery fitouts, chairs, sterilisers, X-ray, joinery.
- Specialist medical asset lenders
- High-value items easy to chattel-mortgage
- Bundle with practice acquisition finance
How a Fitout Deal is Usually Structured
- Split tangible vs soft costs from the builder’s scope
- Asset finance (chattel mortgage) on tangible equipment, joinery, signage
- Unsecured business loan for design, labour, freight, install
- Match repayment term to expected lease length where possible
- Insurance over fitout assets
- Optional: combine with commercial property loan if you own the premises
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I finance the whole fitout including labour and design?
Yes — using two facilities. Tangible items (equipment, joinery, signage, AV) go on a chattel mortgage. Soft costs (design fees, labour, freight, install) go on an unsecured business loan. Together they fund the full project.
How fast can fitout finance be approved?
Equipment finance and small unsecured business loans for fitouts often approve within 24–72 hours via auto-decision platforms. Larger or specialty fitouts may need a few extra days for credit review.
Should the loan term match my lease term?
Generally yes. Aligning loan term to remaining lease (or remaining option periods) reduces the risk of repaying fitout debt past the point you control the premises.
Building or refreshing a fitout?
Speak with Jorden about how to split your fitout into asset finance and unsecured working capital so the deal lands clean.