Finance for shop fit-outs

A shopper decides within a few steps of the door whether a store feels worth browsing. That’s what you’re paying for with a fit-out: lighting that flatters the stock, a layout that leads people through, a counter that doesn’t feel like an afterthought. It’s also money spent improving a building you probably don’t own, which is why lenders treat it with more care than you might expect.

Here’s how to fund it without leaving yourself exposed.

What’s in a fit-out, from a lender’s point of view

Lenders mentally divide your quote into two piles.

Things that could leave with you. Freestanding shelving and gondolas, display cabinets and fridges, mannequins, POS terminals, security systems, some lighting, screens and furniture. These have resale value and can be financed against themselves.

Things that stay with the building. Custom joinery and counters, flooring, plasterboard walls and ceilings, electrical and data cabling, plumbing, air conditioning ductwork, shopfront glazing and signage fixed to the building. Once installed, they’re effectively part of the premises.

Ask your shopfitter for a quote that separates the two. It makes the finance far easier to structure and usually reveals that more of the job is movable than you thought.

Start with the lease, not the loan

Every lender will read your lease, and the lease shapes the finance more than anything else.

• Lease length sets the ceiling. If you have a three-year lease with a three-year option, a seven-year loan for built-in work is a mismatch. If you leave at year three, you’ll still be repaying for joinery that now belongs to someone else’s shop. Keep repayments inside the term you’re confident of staying.
• Retail leasing laws differ by state. Victoria’s retail leasing laws, for example, generally give tenants a minimum five-year term unless a waiver certificate is obtained, and the Victorian Small Business Commission publishes guidance on disclosure statements and outgoings. Other states have their own Acts and commissioners.
• Approvals come first. Shopping centre landlords usually have design criteria and approval steps for tenant fit-outs. Some councils need a building or development approval for structural or change-of-use work. Lenders may ask to see these before they release funds.
• Make-good. Business Queensland describes make-good as returning premises to the condition they were in at the start of the lease, which can include removing fixtures and fittings, repairing damage and repainting. If you don’t, the landlord can take the cost from your bond or bank guarantee. That’s a future cost of the fit-out, and it belongs in your budget.

Matching finance to each part of the job

Part of the fit-out	Finance that suits	Why
Shelving, display units, fridges, POS, screens	Equipment finance or a chattel mortgage	The items secure the loan, and terms can match their working life
Joinery, flooring, walls, electrical, signage	Business term loan or unsecured business loan	No asset to repossess, so approval rests on cash flow
A large or high-end fit-out	Secured business loan against property	Larger amounts over longer terms, with lower repayments
Opening stock and launch	Cash or a line of credit	Recycles as stock sells, so it shouldn’t sit in a long loan

If equipment will be installed in leased premises, the financier may want a landlord waiver, confirming they can access the shop and collect the gear if needed. Raise it while you’re still negotiating the lease, when the landlord is keen to sign you.

Banks are an excellent starting point for an established retailer with a solid trading history, and often the cheapest. If the bank won’t fund built-in work without property, or your fit-out schedule is tighter than its approval timeline, non-bank and equipment lenders are well practised at retail fit-outs.

Got a fit-out quote in hand? Send us the details and we’ll suggest how to split it. Enquiring doesn’t touch your credit history.

Can the landlord carry some of the cost?

Often, and it’s the cheapest money available. Depending on the centre, the strip and how long the shop has sat empty, you might negotiate:

• A cash fit-out contribution, paid on completion
• A landlord-funded base build (walls, ceiling, lighting, services) so you only pay for the finishes
• A rent-free or reduced-rent period to cover the build and opening months
• A cap on make-good obligations, or agreement that certain items can stay

Incentives may come with a longer lease or a slightly higher face rent. That can still be a good trade, but check the total cost over the lease, not just the upfront saving.

Sizing the amount

1. Get two itemised quotes, split into movable and built-in items. Commercial cost guides in 2026 commonly put a standard retail shopfit somewhere around $1,000 to $2,000 per square metre, so a quote far outside that deserves questions.
2. Add the soft costs: design fees, approvals, landlord’s review fees, the bond or bank guarantee, and legal costs on the lease.
3. Add a contingency of 10% to 15% for surprises behind walls and under floors.
4. Subtract landlord contributions and the cash you’ll put in.
5. Allocate what’s left: movable items to equipment finance, built-in work to a term loan sized so repayments end inside the lease.
6. Check the repayments against your trading. The equipment finance calculator and the business loan repayment calculator will show each piece.

Ask your accountant how the fit-out splits for tax. Movable items are generally depreciating assets, some of which may qualify for the small business instant asset write-off, while built-in works can fall under different rules with longer write-off periods.

Worked example: a Fremantle boutique refits a corner shop

An illustration only. A womenswear boutique has traded from a small shop in Fremantle for four years. It takes a new five-year lease on a 110 square metre corner tenancy nearby, with an option for another five.

Item	Amount
Built-in works: counter, change rooms, flooring, ceiling, lighting circuits, signage	$118k
Movable items: wall systems, display tables, racks, mirrors, POS and security tags	$46k
Design, approvals and legal	$11k
Bank guarantee (three months’ rent)	$21k
Contingency	$15k
Total	$211k

The landlord agrees to a $25k fit-out contribution and six weeks rent-free in return for the five-year term, bringing the built-in works the owner funds down to $93k. The owner puts in $55k of savings, covering the bank guarantee, design and part of the contingency. The movable items go on equipment finance over four years, with a landlord waiver signed alongside the lease. A $95k term loan over four years funds the built-in works, ending a year before the lease, so the owner has breathing room if they decide not to exercise the option.

The lender approves on the boutique’s four years of trading. The new shop’s projected sales are noted, but the decision rests on what the business already earns.

From fit-out quote to approval

A good fit-out can lift sales for years, and a well-structured loan makes sure it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Bring the lease (or the heads of agreement), the itemised quotes and your recent trading figures, and the right structure usually becomes clear quickly.

Filling in the form is roughly a minute’s job, and enquiring leaves your credit file exactly as it was. We also don’t fire your details off to a pile of lenders. A person on our team reads it and calls you to work through the options. Please be accurate about your lease term, quotes and turnover, so the first option we raise is one you can actually use.

Plan my fit-out funding →