Zagga: property-secured loans for developers and investors from about $5m

Before reading any further, check three things. Is your loan likely to be $5m or more? Is the property in a capital city or within 100 km of one? Is it somewhere other than Western Australia or the Northern Territory? If you answered yes three times, Zagga could be worth a conversation. If not, its own published criteria suggest it won’t be the right fit, and the end of this page lists where to go instead.

Zagga has been lending since 2017. It raises money from wholesale investors, who can choose individual loans or invest through pooled funds, and lends that money against Australian property. Everything below is drawn from Zagga’s website as at October 2026.

What will Zagga fund?

Zagga’s borrower pages describe purposes rather than branded products. Grouped together:

Development

• Land banking, with interest either capitalised or paid monthly.
• Site acquisition where the valuation has improved after rezoning or planning approval.
• Construction, drawn progressively and covering contingency, project management, capitalised interest and marketing.
• Residual stock refinance to clear a construction loan, release equity or give a sales campaign more time.
• Equity release for higher-value projects, or bridging across several assets.

Property and short-term needs

• Purchase or refinance, renovation and bridging.
• Working capital, equipment, trade and inventory finance, secured against property.

Loans are typically secured by a registered mortgage over property with a recent valuation. Zagga lends on non-specialised property: residential land, completed apartments, generic commercial buildings and construction projects. A special-purpose asset such as a service station or a childcare centre is less likely to fit that description.

The numbers Zagga publishes

Item	As at October 2026
Minimum loan	Generally $5m; smaller considered if merited
Typical property value	$10m to $100m
Term	Typically one to two years
Locations	Capital cities and regional areas within 100 km
Excluded	Western Australia, Northern Territory
Pricing	Set per transaction, based on risk
Repeat borrowers	More than half of funded projects

Its funding showcase gives a feel for real deals: a Camden site acquisition at 65% LVR over 10 to 16 months, a Haymarket working capital facility at about 68%, and a Double Bay office refurbishment at under 46%. None of those are limits, but they suggest Zagga sizes loans conservatively against value.

The exit test: why two or three ways out matter

The most distinctive line in Zagga’s lending philosophy is about the exit. It says the way the loan will be repaid must be clear and achievable, and typically it wants two or three alternative exits, not one.

Here’s what that looks like in an invented example. A developer holds a 40-lot residential subdivision on Sydney’s south-western fringe with civil works finished and titles due in four months. The loan is $7m.

• Exit one: settle lot sales as titles register.
• Exit two: refinance any unsold lots with a residual stock lender.
• Exit three: sell a block of remaining lots to a builder at a wholesale price.

If presales fall through, there are still two credible ways to repay. A lender like Zagga is looking for exactly that redundancy. Our glossary entry on the exit strategy covers how lenders test each option.

Zagga also says it weighs the borrower’s and sponsor’s competence, experience and reputation as carefully as the security property. A first-time developer with a good site should expect harder questions than a group with several completed projects.

Running a project below Zagga’s scale, or outside its map? Give us a quick outline and we’ll point you to lenders who cover your area and size.

Who suits Zagga, and who should look elsewhere

Likely fits

• Experienced developers with land, subdivision or construction projects near a capital city anywhere outside WA and the NT.
• Investors refurbishing or repositioning commercial property worth $10m or more.
• Developers holding finished stock who need time to sell without a bank breathing down their neck.

Likely misfits

• Any business needing less than a few million dollars.
• Projects in Perth, regional WA, Darwin or elsewhere in the NT.
• Specialised property, or regional sites well beyond 100 km from a capital city.
• Businesses wanting unsecured working capital.

Banks still fund most Australian development, and for an experienced developer meeting presales and equity hurdles they’re usually the cheaper choice. Private credit platforms like Zagga step in where timing, presales or loan size take a deal outside bank appetite.

What to ask Zagga, or any development lender

• What will the facility cost in total dollars, including establishment, line fees, capitalised interest and any exit fee?
• If interest is capitalised, how much of the facility does it consume, and is the interest allowance enough if the project runs late? The bridging loan calculator is a quick way to see how capitalised interest grows.
• How are construction draws approved, and how quickly is money released after a quantity surveyor’s report?
• What happens if titles or sales are delayed by three months?
• Who services the loan day to day? According to its website, Zagga Market Pty Limited (Australian Credit Licence 490904) acts as servicer for the credit provider, Zagga Investments Pty Limited (AFSL 492354). Both can be checked on ASIC’s registers.

Outside Zagga’s range? Other routes

• Smaller land or development deals: see construction and development finance and land loans for business.
• Finished stock to refinance: residual stock loans explains how they work at smaller sizes too.
• Property in WA: private lenders that operate nationally are listed in our lender directory.
• Fast cash against property you already hold: a second mortgage can be arranged from much smaller amounts.

Other large property credit managers in this directory include MaxCap Group and Metrics Credit Partners.

Your project, matched to the right lender

Zagga is clear about what it wants: big, well-located projects with experienced sponsors and more than one way out. Many developers and property-owning businesses sit just outside one of those lines, and that’s when knowing the wider market saves weeks.

Our enquiry is brief, about sixty seconds of typing, and sending it doesn’t put an enquiry on your credit file. What you tell us isn’t syndicated around the industry. Someone experienced in property lending reads it and calls you back. Accurate figures on the site, the loan amount and the exit make all the difference to how useful that first call is.

Get your project in front of the right lender →