Pacific 8: private first and second mortgage lending for larger business loans

Most of the lenders in this directory start small: a few thousand dollars against a month of bank statements. Pacific 8 sits at the other end. It is a private lender that, by its own description, offers loan terms from three months to three years, and its published range begins at $300k. That changes who it is for, how it assesses a loan, and what you should ask before you apply.

This profile is based on Pacific 8’s own website as at October 2026. Lenders change their products, so confirm details with them directly before relying on anything here.

What does Pacific 8 offer?

According to its website, Pacific 8 lends for business purposes only and secures every loan against real property. The products it lists are:

Product	What it is	Typically used for
First registered mortgage	A loan secured by the first-ranking mortgage over your property	Refinancing, purchases, short-term business capital
Second registered mortgage	A loan behind an existing lender, using the equity left over	Releasing equity without disturbing a cheaper first mortgage
Bridging loan	Short-term funding until a sale, refinance or settlement	Moving between properties or covering a timing gap
Equity release / business loan	Funds drawn from property equity for a business use	Growth, renovations, equipment, a new venture

The published range is $300k to $25m, over terms of three months to three years. The lender says it will consider loan-to-value ratios of up to 75%, and that the security can be residential, commercial or vacant land.

Ranking is the key difference between the two. Read about first mortgages and second mortgages to see why it moves price and risk.

Who is Pacific 8 a good fit for?

The $300k floor does most of the filtering. In practice, this lender is most relevant to:

• Property owners with meaningful equity who need a large sum for a business purpose and can offer a house, commercial building or land as security.
• Borrowers who know how they’ll get out: a property sale, a refinance back to a bank, or a settlement that’s already contracted. Short terms of three months to three years only make sense when you know how the loan will be repaid.
• Developers and investors who need speed at settlement more than the lowest possible cost.
• Businesses the banks have moved slowly on. If your bank is interested, take the offer seriously: banks are often the cheapest money. A private lender earns its place when time, structure or an unusual security is the obstacle.

It is a poor fit for owners who need $30k for stock, who have no property, or who want a long, low-repayment term. Those readers are better served by unsecured business loans, invoice finance or equipment finance.

How does a private lender like this assess a loan?

Private lenders look at the property first and the borrower second. Pacific 8 does not list detailed eligibility criteria on its website, so the following describes how private mortgage lending usually works rather than a Pacific 8 checklist:

1. The security. Value, location, type and condition of the property, and what already sits against the title.
2. The loan-to-value ratio. Your existing debt plus the new loan, compared with a valuation. Use our LVR calculator to see where you land.
3. The purpose. Business purposes only. Be ready to explain what the money is for.
4. The way out. Where the repayment will come from, and when. Our glossary explains the exit strategy lenders want to see.
5. Your position. Credit history and income still count, but usually carry less weight than they do with a bank.

If you are weighing a first mortgage against a second, our comparison of first and second mortgage business loans sets out when each wins.

Not sure which structure your property supports? Tell us the amount and the security and a specialist will point you at the sensible options before you approach anyone.

What should you ask before signing a private loan?

Whoever you borrow from, get the answers to these in writing:

• What will the whole loan cost in dollars, counting establishment, valuation, legal and exit fees across the full term?
• Is interest paid monthly, or capitalised into the loan? It changes what you owe at the end.
• What happens at maturity if your sale or refinance runs late? Ask about extension terms before you need them.
• Who pays for the valuation and legal work, and are they payable if the loan doesn’t proceed?
• Is a personal guarantee required from directors, and how far does it reach?

For a short, large loan, a worked example matters. Borrowing $1m for six months, with fees and interest, will look very different on paper from the headline figure, so build the full cost before you decide. Our bridging loan calculator can help with the short-term arithmetic.

If Pacific 8 isn’t the right fit, what next?

• Need less than $300k? A caveat loan or smaller second mortgage may suit. Lenders such as Secured Lending and Assurity Capital have their own ranges, so compare them.
• No property to offer? See business loans without property for the realistic alternatives.
• Bank said no or is slow? Our page on a bank that is taking too long to approve covers whether to wait or move.
• Settlement at risk? If a contract date is looming, read about a settlement about to fall over.

You can put similar lenders side by side with our lender comparison tool.

Not sure whether $300k and up is the right lane?

Large private loans are a specialist job. The right lender depends on your property, your exit and how quickly the money is needed, and a wrong first approach costs days you may not have.

A short conversation can save that. Our form is about a minute of typing, and sending it leaves your credit file untouched. We keep your information in-house instead of firing it off to every lender going, and a person on our team reads it before ringing you. Give honest figures for property value and existing debt, and the first option we suggest has a good chance of being the right one.

Find out which lender type fits your property →