Refinancing a Prime Capital loan: timing, notice and what the next lender needs

Prime Capital is an established Australian non-bank lender providing property-secured business loans. This guide is for business owners with a Prime Capital loan who are thinking about moving it, usually because the business has grown and needs a bigger facility, the plan now needs a longer runway, or the borrower is consolidating several loans into one. If your current facility is working and the exit is close, staying put is often the cheapest option, so it's worth having that conversation first.

Notice and timing

Private loans differ on this point. Some have a long minimum term, where you pay interest for the full period however early you repay. Others can be repaid on relatively short notice with no lock-in, which makes the mechanics of a refinance much simpler. Which one you have decides how the refinance is sequenced, so start by reading your own loan agreement, because its terms are what count.

Once you know the notice position, a sensible order is:

1. Get a payout estimate and confirm the notice requirements in your loan agreement.
2. Send the scenario to the new lender and get indicative terms.
3. Instruct the valuation.
4. Give notice once you have credit approval, so any notice period and the new lender's settlement run side by side rather than one after the other.
5. Settle, with the new lender paying out the old loan on the same day the new mortgage is registered.

When a refinance makes sense

• You need more than the current facility. If the property has gone up in value or you've added security, a larger facility may release the working capital or deposit you need.
• You're consolidating. Several smaller loans across different properties can sometimes be combined into one facility over one or two properties, which can reduce total fees and make the exit cleaner.
• The exit has moved. If you were planning to refinance to a bank and that's now six to twelve months away, a facility with a term that matches the new timeline avoids a series of short rollovers.

A note on loan size

Vía Private's first mortgages start at $1M and second mortgages at $500K. If your current loan is smaller than that and you don't need any more money, a refinance to us won't fit, and an extension or a lender that specialises in smaller loans will suit you better. Where a business needs to step up from a smaller facility to a larger one, that's where we can usually help.

What we'll need from you

• The property or properties, with an idea of value
• A payout figure or recent statement for every loan being refinanced
• A copy of the current loan agreement
• What the new money is for, if you need more than the payout
• How the new loan will be repaid, whether by sale, bank refinance or business cash flow

For the full process, including costs on both sides, read refinancing a private loan to another private lender. If the plan is to get to a bank within the next year, bridging a bank refinance that isn't ready yet explains how to set the term and interest up for that.

How we do it

Vía Private lends $1M to $20M for business and investment purposes, to companies and trusts, secured by property on the East Coast, for terms of 6 to 36 months. We can usually give indicative terms within 24 hours and settle in 5 to 10 business days once the valuation is in, and we set out the total interest, every fee and the exact payout at the end before you sign.

If you're thinking about refinancing a Prime Capital loan, send us the scenario.

Vía Private is not affiliated with Prime Capital. Prime Capital is named only to describe a refinance scenario, and nothing here sets out its current products, terms or pricing, or compares them with ours. Check your own loan agreement for the terms that apply to your loan. Vía Private is an Australian non-bank private credit lender providing property-secured commercial loans to companies and trusts for business and investment purposes. All lending is subject to credit approval and valuation. General information only, not financial or credit advice.