Fast business loans for cafes, restaurants and pubs

Why do hospitality owners need money fast?

Because hospitality runs on thin margins and short notice. The espresso machine dies on a Saturday morning in Fitzroy. The cool room goes on Christmas Eve in Noosa. A big function cancels and the wage bill doesn’t. A wet winter in Hobart keeps people at home for weeks. Every one of those can turn a decent business into a cash emergency overnight.

At the same time, hospitality has opportunities that need speed: a second site coming up, a neighbouring shop for expansion, a liquor licence transfer with a deadline.

What do hospitality businesses borrow for?

Need	Route	Speed possible
Coffee machine, oven, cool room	Unsecured business loan	Same day for smaller amounts
Emergency equipment repair	Unsecured or line of credit	Same day possible
Fit-out or refurbishment	Unsecured or property-secured	Same day to 48 hours
Winter or off-season gap	Line of credit	Immediate once set up
Wages over public holidays	Cash-flow loan	Same day possible
Second venue or business purchase	Property-secured loan	Up to $5m in 24–48h

How do lenders view hospitality statements?

Generally well, when trading is steady. Daily card takings create a regular, visible pattern of deposits, which suits unsecured lending. What lenders look out for is a falling trend, lots of dishonours or a business that relies on one big event each year. If your statements show a seasonal dip, explain it.

Illustrative example: a cafe on the Mornington Peninsula trades strongly from November to April and drops by about half over winter. Its cool room and coffee grinder both need replacing in May, costing $22,000. Statements show strong summer trading, and an unsecured loan, with same-day funding possible for smaller amounts, pays for both. The owner also sets up a line of credit for next winter.

What about wages and public holidays?

Penalty rates and public holidays make hospitality wage bills lumpy, especially around Christmas, New Year and Easter. Payday super, from 1 July 2026, means super is paid with wages each pay run too. If a busy holiday period means a big wage bill before the takings land, a short-term loan or line of credit can bridge it. See payroll and super.

Fit-outs and new venues

New venues are expensive and slow to open. Fit-outs commonly run over budget and time, while rent starts on a fixed date. Owners with a trading venue and property can often fund a new site quickly. Read our fit-out page for what lenders want to see.

What documents help a hospitality application?

1. ID and ABN
2. Six months of business bank statements
3. Quote or invoice for equipment or works
4. Lease details for the venue
5. Property details if using security

How can hospitality businesses build resilience?

• Set up a line of credit while trading is strong
• Service key equipment regularly and keep spare parts for critical items
• Plan wage rosters around known public holidays
• Set aside GST each week to avoid BAS shocks
• Use your quiet season to plan, not just survive

Kitchen down? Send your 60-second enquiry and get it moving.

What do lenders make of a hospitality business’s quiet months?

They expect them. Very few venues trade evenly across the year. A beachside cafe in Torquay booms in summer and slows in winter; a ski-town pub in Jindabyne is the opposite; a CBD lunch spot in Sydney is quiet over the Christmas shutdown when offices empty. What lenders want is a pattern that makes sense and a business that covers its costs across the full year.

If your statements show a slump, show the lender the same months from the year before. A predictable seasonal dip reads very differently from a steady decline. And if you’ve had a one-off bad patch, such as roadworks outside the shop for three months or a kitchen closed for repairs, say so in your enquiry.

Liquor licences and business purchases

Buying or expanding a licensed venue can involve licence transfers or variations with your state’s liquor regulator, which run on their own timelines. Ask your lawyer how long the transfer is likely to take and make sure your funding timeline matches. Fast funding can meet a settlement date, but it can’t speed up a regulator’s approval process.

See if your venue qualifies

There’s no credit check when you first enquire, so you can ask between services without it affecting your file. We don’t spray your details around a list of lenders. A real person reads your enquiry and rings you, at a time that suits your trading hours, with the quickest way to get funded.

Please give the real amount, what it’s for and your state on the form so the first match is the right one. Check if you qualify.