Roofing Business Secures $122,600 Loan During Liquidation | Go For Broker
Business Loans, Private Lending, Bank Declined, Business Recovery, Case Study
Discover how Go For Broker helped a Victorian roofing business secure $122,600 using property equity at 21.99% per annum, raised within a couple of weeks, after both banks and non-bank lenders declined to look past the business's external administration status despite the business still trading and generating revenue.
Banks said no. Non-bank lenders said no. Not because the business was failing, but because of a single word on a report: liquidation. The work was still there. The revenue was still there. What was missing was a lender willing to read past the label.
A label isn't a diagnosis. "External administration" tells a lender what's happening on paper - it doesn't tell them whether a business is still trading, still winning work, and still worth backing. This case is what happens when a lender actually checks.
First, Why the Banks said No
Two different types of lender arrived at the same answer, for the same reason.
The business was under external administration. For most banks, this alone is enough to decline, regardless of current trading performance.
Non-bank lenders followed the same pattern. Approached separately, they showed little appetite to look past the liquidation status either - the label did the deciding, not the underlying numbers.
Neither lender was assessing whether the work was still there. They were applying a policy rule to a report heading.
Our Thinking
This wasn't a dead business. The work was there and the revenue was there - what the clients needed was short-term support to get through the administration process, not a lender writing the business off because of the label attached to it.
The Numbers
Loan Amount: $122,600
Security: Equity in the clients' properties
Rate: 21.99% per annum
Timeframe: Funds raised within a couple of weeks
What people miss
The instinct is to compare 21.99% against what a bank would charge - but a bank was never going to fund a business under external administration at any rate. The real comparison isn't 21.99% against a bank's rate; it's 21.99% against the business ceasing to trade entirely. Once the business stops, there's no revenue to service any facility, at any price. The rate reflects a lender taking on a risk almost every other lender in the market had already declined outright.
The point isn't that one is better
Once the administration process resolves and the business rebuilds a clean trading record, this is exactly the kind of facility that should be refinanced into something considerably cheaper. Nobody should carry a 21.99% rate longer than the situation requires.
But in the window while a liquidator needs to be paid and the label "external administration" is still attached to the business, a bank's policy isn't built to look past that report heading - no matter how strong the trading position underneath it actually is.
The Outcome
$122,600 raised using property equity
Liquidator paid out, allowing the business to continue trading
Funds raised within a couple of weeks
Business remained operational throughout the process
Could Your Clients Benefit from a Similar Strategy?
If you're an accountant, adviser, or agency working with a client whose business is trading through external administration or liquidation, this case shows what's achievable when a lender looks past the label to the business underneath it. For SMEs across Australia, a status on a report shouldn't automatically mean the end of trading, provided the work and the revenue are genuinely still there.
Whether the pressure is a liquidator that needs to be paid, a bank or non-bank lender declining purely on administration status, or a business trying to hold on through a recovery process, a private lender willing to assess the real trading position - backed by experienced brokers who know which lenders will actually look past the paperwork - can provide the short-term support needed to keep the business operating while a longer-term resolution takes shape.
FAQs
Can a business in liquidation or external administration still get a loan in Australia? In some cases, yes - while most banks and many non-bank lenders won't look past external administration status, some private lenders will assess the underlying business and available security rather than declining on the label alone.
Why would a lender charge a higher rate for a business under external administration? The rate reflects a risk almost every other lender in the market has already declined to take on. It's priced against the alternative of the business ceasing to trade entirely, not against a standard bank rate that was never actually available.
What happens if I need to pay out a liquidator to keep my business trading? A broker with access to private lenders may be able to raise funds against available property equity to pay a liquidator and allow the business to continue operating, though options depend heavily on individual circumstances and available security.
Why would a bank decline a loan for a business that's still trading and generating revenue? Banks often apply strict policy rules around external administration or liquidation status regardless of a business's current trading performance, which is why businesses in this position sometimes need to look to private lenders who assess the full picture.
