Business loans for cafes, restaurants and hospitality
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Hospitality businesses, cafes, restaurants, bars and food vans, borrow for a few recurring reasons: fitting out or refurbishing a venue, buying kitchen equipment, and smoothing the seasonal and weekly swings in trade. Thin margins and lumpy cash flow shape what fits: equipment finance for the gear, a line of credit for the swings, and a term loan for a defined project like a fit-out. Card-based takings also make some lenders comfortable, because daily revenue is visible.
Common hospitality funding needs
The right product usually maps cleanly onto why you're borrowing.
- Fit-out or refurbishment: a term loan for the defined project
- Ovens, fridges, coffee machines: equipment finance tied to the asset
- Seasonal or weekly cash-flow swings: a line of credit
- A quiet season or unexpected repair: short-term working capital
What helps a hospitality application
Lenders like visible, consistent takings. Steady card and bank activity, even through seasonal dips, tells the story better than a single strong month. If a chunk of your revenue flows through a card terminal, that daily data can work in your favour.
The lenders we compare
| Lender | Advertised rate from | Loan size | Typical speed | Products | Industry code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lumi | Quote-based | $5,000 – $1,000,000 | Same business day | Term loan, Line of credit or overdraft | AFIA Code signatory |
 Moula | From 15.99% p.a. | $10,000 – $500,000 | Next business day | Term loan | AFIA Code signatory |
 Prospa | Quote-based | $5,000 – $500,000 | Funds within an hour of signing | Term loan, Line of credit or overdraft | AFIA Code signatory |
| Moneytech | From 13.95% p.a. | $25,000 – $1,000,000 | Not published | Term loan, Line of credit or overdraft, Invoice finance, Trade finance, Equipment finance | Not listed |
 Shift | From 14.95% p.a. | $10,000 – $2,000,000 | Approval within hours for limits under $500,000 | Line of credit or overdraft, Term loan, Equipment finance, Trade finance | AFIA Code signatory |
Terms as at July 2026, from each lender's own site. “Quote-based” means the lender prices each loan individually (Lumi quotes a total repayment; Prospa uses simple interest) rather than publishing a headline rate. Figures are indicative, not a quote; your rate depends on the lender's assessment. Verify current terms with the lender.
If your loan settles, Refer Labs may be paid a share of the broker's commission, or a commission from the lender. This never changes what you pay, and we are not paid to rank one lender above another. How we make money.
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Common questions
- Can a new cafe get finance?
- For fit-out and equipment, sometimes, especially where the equipment itself secures the loan. For unsecured cash-flow lending, most lenders still want a few months of trading first. Equipment finance is often the most accessible early option.
- Does seasonal trade count against me?
- Not necessarily. Lenders expect hospitality to be seasonal. What matters is that the pattern is consistent year to year and the business covers its costs across the cycle. A line of credit is built for exactly this.
- What about equipment for the kitchen?
- Kitchen equipment is a natural fit for equipment finance, where the asset secures the loan. It can also interact with the instant asset write-off, worth a word with your accountant.