Business debt consolidation
Business debt consolidation: every facility in one place, priced properly.
Debt gets expensive by accumulating, not by existing. Three facilities, a tax debt and a director's loan all priced for the moment each was taken out will cost far more than one structured loan against the same security. Consolidation is worth doing when there is equity to do it with - and when there isn't, we will tell you that instead.
Rated 5.0 from 262 Google reviews · Brisbane finance brokers
- Business facilities, ATO arrears, equipment debt and directors' loans into one facility
- Secured against property equity where it exists, which is what makes the rate move
- The honest answer when consolidation is the wrong tool, before you pay for advice
What consolidation actually changes.
Consolidation does not make debt disappear, and any broker who implies otherwise is selling you something. What it changes is the price and the shape. Several facilities taken at different times, each priced for the risk on the day it was written, sit at rates that have nothing to do with the business as it stands today. One facility, secured properly, is priced once, against current security and current trading.
The second thing it changes is the calendar. Five repayment dates across five lenders is five chances to miss one, and a missed repayment on any of them prices the next facility higher. One date is one thing to manage.
What can be rolled in.
Most business consolidations we write cover some combination of:
- Business loans and overdrafts across multiple lenders
- ATO arrears, including PAYG withholding, GST and superannuation guarantee
- Equipment and vehicle finance approaching the end of its useful term
- Directors' loans and related party debt sitting awkwardly on the balance sheet
- Trade creditors that have quietly become finance by another name
- Credit cards being used as working capital, which is the most expensive money in the business
Secured against equity is what moves the rate.
Unsecured business debt is priced for the lender's risk, and that risk is high because there is nothing behind it. The single biggest lever in any consolidation is bringing property security into the structure: a facility secured against real equity prices in an entirely different band to the same amount unsecured.
That security is often sitting in the director's own property holdings rather than the trading entity, which is why these deals need someone who can see the whole group at once. Where the structure needs it, the new facility can sit in a special purpose vehicle so the consolidated debt stays separate from the trading entity.
A worked example: the same debt, priced twice.
An illustration with checkable arithmetic, not a client file. A business carries $400,000 across four facilities: a $150,000 unsecured business loan at 14%, a $90,000 overdraft at 12%, $60,000 of equipment finance at 9% and $100,000 of ATO arrears on a payment plan. Interest across the four runs to roughly $46,500 a year.
Consolidated into a single facility secured against director-held property equity at 7.5%, the same $400,000 costs $30,000 a year. The difference is $16,500 annually, and none of it came from paying the debt down - it came from pricing it once, against security, instead of four times against none.
Whether that holds for a given business depends on the equity available, the trading position and the lender. The arithmetic above is illustrative and not a quote.
When consolidation is the wrong answer.
Consolidation works when there is equity to secure against and a business that trades profitably once the repayments are right-sized. It is the wrong tool in two situations, and both are common enough to name plainly.
The first is when the debt is a symptom rather than the problem. If the business is losing money at its current volume, refinancing the losses buys time and makes the eventual number bigger. The fix is in the trading, and consolidating first just moves the deadline.
The second is when there is no equity left. If the security is already fully drawn and the arrears are still growing, more lending is not the answer and the honest advice is insolvency advice. That is a different profession to ours: LINK Rescue handles it, and we would rather refer you there early than write a facility that delays a decision you needed to make now.
ATO debt inside a consolidation.
Tax debt behaves differently to commercial debt and needs saying separately. Unpaid PAYG withholding, GST and superannuation guarantee charge can make a director personally liable through a Director Penalty Notice, at which point the company structure stops protecting the person behind it. That changes the urgency of a consolidation from financial to personal.
Where there is equity, clearing the arrears in full through a consolidated facility is usually cheaper than a payment plan and removes the personal exposure at the same time. Where there is not, the question is no longer a lending question. If you are holding a notice and are not sure which situation you are in, get advice on that first - the deadlines on a notice are short and they do not pause while you shop for finance.
The process.
Consolidations are more work than a standard refinance, because the schedule has to be complete before anything is priced:
- A full liability schedule: every facility, balance, rate and security, plus ATO debt by period. Nothing estimated
- Security review across the group, including property held personally or in trusts
- Serviceability evidenced on current trading, not the worst quarter in the file
- Lenders approached with a complete credit case: the ones who write these want the whole picture up front
- Settlement coordinated so every facility discharges together, rather than one at a time
Why LINK Advance.
One facility, one date
Several lenders become one, at a rate priced against current security and current trading rather than the day each facility was written.
ATO arrears cleared, not deferred
Where equity allows, tax debt is paid out in full rather than carried on a payment plan, which removes the personal exposure a Director Penalty Notice creates.
The structure, not just the loan
Security often sits in the director's own holdings rather than the trading entity. Where it makes sense the new facility sits in its own vehicle, keeping consolidated debt away from trading.
A named exit
Where the consolidation runs through a specialist lender, the plan names the point you move back to Tier 1 pricing at the start. A stage one without a stage two is not a plan.
Your broker, not a call centre.
Hugh, Callum and Jacob write every loan themselves: the person who meets you is the person who structures the deal, drives the approval and reprices your rate every six months after settlement. That's why 262 Google reviews name them personally.
Meet the team →262 five-star reviews, and counting.
The reviews page →Verify on Google →Callum and the team were fantastic to deal with every step of the way. As first home buyers we really appreciated Callum's simple explanations of each part of the process and we couldn't be happier with the result.
Seamless experience dealing with Hugh and the Link Advance team to refinance our home. Thank you!
Jacob and the team at LINK Advance made buying our investment property quick and painless. Would recommend
We’ve just bought our first home with the help of Callum and the team at LINK, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Callum went above and beyond, kept us informed every step of the way, and made the whole process feel easy and stress-free. Highly recommend!
Hugh has been amazing throughout the process of buying our new house. He is very approachable and knowledgable and went above and beyond what we expected to help us out. Thanks so much Hugh!
Jacob was an efficient mortgage broker. The process was made simple and constant updates were communicated. Any questions asked were responded to timely. Highly recommend Jacob.
Building a house can be so stressful and overwhelming let alone dealing with the finance aspect of it, however with Callum it has been the exact opposite. He has been so patient and extremely helpful throughout the whole process. Highly recommend!
Hugh Dellit was fantastic to work with and truly understood our needs when it came to applying for our first home loan. I would highly recommend him for his professional, kind and friendly service.
Jacob provided informative and friendly service every step of the way. He was a great comfort to us as first home buyers as we knew we were in good hands. Thanks for all of your help Jacob!
Hugh and the rest of the team were excellent at securing us a home loan. Knowledgeable, friendly, very communicative and made the entire process stress free and easy. We can’t recommend Hugh and the rest of the team at Link Advance enough.
Frequently asked questions.
Can I consolidate business debt into my home loan?
Often, yes, and it is usually the cheapest structure available because residential security prices better than commercial. It also puts your home behind business debt, which is a decision to make deliberately rather than by default. We model both and show you the difference before anything is submitted.
Can ATO debt be included?
Yes. PAYG withholding, GST and superannuation guarantee arrears can all be cleared through a consolidated facility where there is equity to secure it. Clearing them in full usually costs less than a payment plan and removes the personal liability that a Director Penalty Notice creates.
Will consolidating hurt my credit file?
The application itself is an enquiry like any other. What helps the file is what happens afterwards: one facility paid on time every month builds clean conduct faster than several facilities where one occasionally slips. Most of our consolidation clients are working toward a Tier 1 refinance in the medium term.
What if I do not have equity?
Then consolidation is probably the wrong tool and we will say so. Unsecured consolidation exists but prices close to what you are already paying, so it rarely solves anything. If the arrears are growing and the security is fully drawn, the honest next step is insolvency advice rather than more lending, and LINK Rescue is the right place for that conversation.
How long does it take?
Longer than a standard refinance, because the liability schedule has to be complete and every facility has to discharge on the same day. Two to six weeks is typical once the schedule is assembled. Where a Director Penalty Notice is running, we work to the notice.
Your broker for life.
Bring us the whole schedule, not the worst facility.
Every facility, every balance, every rate. We will tell you what consolidating actually saves, or that it does not, before you commit to anything.
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Level 1, 57 Berwick Street, Fortitude Valley 4006
5.0 · based on 262 Google reviews