WA Mining Business Secures $150k Loan, Lands $25M Contract | Go For Broker

Business Loans, Commercial Property, Bank Declined, Cash Flow, Case Study

Discover how Go For Broker helped a WA mining business secure a $150,000 first mortgage at 18% per annum, settled within a week, after a temporary revenue dip and defaults on file led mainstream lenders to decline with the client going on to land a $25 million contract once the funding gap was bridged.

$150,000 was the number standing between a business and the work it had already won. It took a week to solve, an 18% rate to fund, and the client went on to land a $25 million contract on the other side of it.

Not every finance story is about the size of the number. Sometimes it's about what the number unlocks. $150,000, arranged in a week, against a credit file most lenders wouldn't look past - and on the other side of it, a $25 million contract.

First, Why the Banks said No

The bank wasn't looking at a bad business. It was looking at a recent history that didn't match the business's actual trajectory.

Revenue had recently dipped. A temporary cash flow slow patch showed up in the numbers a bank relies on - even though major work orders were already lined up and ready to go.

Defaults and court actions were on file. Mainstream lenders were not willing to look past this recent credit history to the work and customers already in place behind it.

Our Thinking

The focus wasn't on where the business had been - it was on where it was going. The work was there and the customers were there; the cash flow simply hadn't caught up yet, which made this a timing problem rather than a genuine credit risk.

The Numbers

Loan Amount:$150,000

Security:Unencumbered WA Property (first mortgage)

Rate:18% per annum

Term:12 Months

Settlement:One Week

What people miss

It's tempting to look at 18% and think "that's expensive money." But the relevant comparison isn't the rate in isolation - it's the rate against what the funding actually enabled. $27,000 in interest is a rounding error next to a $25 million contract, and that contract only happened because the business could deliver on the work orders it already had, rather than losing them to a cash flow gap a bank wasn't willing to bridge.

The point isn't that one is better

A relatively small, short-term facility at 18% isn't a long-term financing strategy, and it was never meant to be one. It solved a specific, temporary problem: a gap between confirmed work and the cash flow to deliver it. Once that gap closed, the facility had done its job.

The real lesson here isn't "private lending beats a bank." It's that the cost of capital only means something next to what it's being measured against - and a week's delay waiting on a bank that wasn't going to say yes anyway would have cost far more than 18% ever could.

The Outcome

• $150,000 first mortgage facility secured against unencumbered WA property

• Settled within one week

• Client able to deliver on existing contracts and strengthen customer relationships

• Client has since secured a $25 million contract

Could Your Clients Benefit from a Similar Strategy?

If you're an accountant, adviser, or agency working with a client whose credit file doesn't reflect where their business is actually heading - a temporary revenue dip, a default that's already explainable, work orders ready to go but no cash flow to deliver them - this case shows what's achievable when a lender looks forward instead of backward. For businesses and SMEs across Australia, a short-term funding gap shouldn't be the reason a genuine opportunity is lost.

Whether the underlying pressure is a recent dip in revenue, defaults or court actions sitting on file, or simply a timing mismatch between confirmed work and available cash flow, a broker with access to non-bank and private lenders - able to assess the trajectory of the business, not just the last few months of numbers - can bridge the gap fast enough for the opportunity to still be there on the other side.

FAQs

Can I get business funding if I have defaults or court actions on my credit file? Yes - private lenders can often look past recent defaults or court actions if the underlying business has genuine work and customers in place, rather than declining based on the credit file alone.

Can a temporary cash flow gap stop me from delivering on confirmed work orders? It doesn't have to - a broker with access to non-bank and private lenders may be able to arrange fast funding against available property security to bridge the gap while revenue catches up.

How fast can a first mortgage against unencumbered property settle in Australia? Timeframes vary by lender, but with clear, unencumbered security, a first mortgage has in some cases settled within about a week - considerably faster than a typical bank process.