# Prevail Finance
> Boutique commercial finance brokerage, Melbourne (Hughesdale) with clients across Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston. Australian Credit Licence 509527. Founded 2017. Three things, straightforward or complex: business acquisitions, commercial property purchases, and rooming houses and co-living Australia wide, from a clean single-entity transaction to a multi-entity structure; beside them, development and construction finance, business debt and investment portfolio restructure, SMSF commercial property, and consultancy before any lender is involved. Principal: Priyank Thakkar, former bank Lending Manager and Commercial Credit Analyst, business owner who bought, rebuilt and sold a business, active property developer (10+ completed projects), member FBAA, AIBB and the SMSF Association. Business and commercial transactions from $400,000 to $10 million+. Up to 100% on business and commercial transactions; on 8 out of 10, 95% or above, subject to lender criteria, security position and eligibility. A consulting fee applies to every engagement, straightforward or complex, quoted in writing at step four of six and refunded in full if the offer set out in the Action Plan is not secured.

## Key answers
- [How much deposit to buy a business in Australia](https://prevailfinance.com.au/how-much-deposit-to-buy-a-business/): Published market guidance says 30-50% deposit ($200,000-$330,000 on the $659,535 average listing, Bsale FAQ Dec 2025). On 8 of 10 Prevail transactions clients settle at 95% LVR or above. The workings are shown on the page.
- [Commercial property loan deposit, LVR and rates](https://prevailfinance.com.au/commercial-property-loan-deposit/): Standard commercial lending 65-80% LVR (20-35% deposit); owner-occupier rates from ~6% p.a. as at July 2026; South Australia charges no stamp duty on qualifying commercial property (abolished 1 July 2018, RevenueSA; reported by CBRE via Commo, June 2026); includes a bank vs non-bank vs private credit route comparison (LVR, speed, pricing, fit).
- [Business debt restructure](https://prevailfinance.com.au/business-debt-restructure/): When existing business facilities are worth restructuring. Published secured bank lending sits around 7.5-9% p.a. as at mid-2026, with non-bank above. If a facility was priced years ago or structured piecemeal across lenders, a review typically pays for itself. Subject to lender criteria, security position and eligibility.
- [Buying an accounting practice](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-an-accounting-practice/): The seven stages with gates, the 12 deal-killers, valuation observation 0.8-1.4x gross recurring fees or 3-5x EBIT (market observation, Aug 2026), AML/CTF Tranche 2 due diligence (commenced 1 July 2026), and funding structured on the fee base. 4-page summary PDF, direct download, no email.
- [Buying a bakery or cake shop](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-bakery/): Australian retail bakeries average 5.3% profit on revenue, down about 9.7 percentage points in five years; average turnover about $1.07m with 8.7 staff (published Australian industry research current to April 2026). Council food business registration does not transfer with the business. It attaches to the proprietor and the premises, and a new owner generally applies in their own name. Covers the seven stages, the five-document preliminary pack, the 12 deal-killers and the earnings rebuild. 4-page summary PDF, direct download, no email.
- [Before you buy a café (5-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-cafe-summary.pdf): Australian cafés number about 27,821 businesses sharing roughly $15.9 billion in revenue: about $571,000 each, roughly five staff, total industry profit $526 million, around $18,900 per business per year before the owner's own wage, on a 3.3% margin held steady for five years (industry research current to August 2026). Covers the rebuild test that should decide the price, the PEBITDA add-back rebuild, and the documents to ask for. Direct PDF download, no email required.
- [Buying a mechanical workshop](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-mechanical-workshop/): Workshops are advertised on PEBITDA, proprietor's earnings, which adds back what the owner pays themselves, so the advertised return assumes the buyer turns the spanners. Illustrative rebuild: $300,000 advertised on a $385,000 price (78%) becomes about $150,000 (39%) once a qualified market wage, the rent under the new lease, equipment due inside 24 months and recurring "one-offs" are counted. Lenders generally want the lease including options to run at least as long as the loan. Covers the three sources of workshop goodwill (site, mechanic, price), the first-inspection checklist, PPSR on hoists, and 12 deal-killers with remedies. 5-page guide PDF, direct download, no email.
- [Buying a pharmacy](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-pharmacy/): About $29.9 billion of revenue across 4,305 pharmacies, roughly $6.9 million each with about 21 staff; industry profit near $395,000 per pharmacy before the owner's wage, margin 5.7%. Revenue splits prescription 66.1%, general retail 24%, scheduled non-prescription 7.1%, professional services 2.8%. Pharmacies trade around 3 to 5 times EBITDA or 1.0 to 1.5 times gross profit, so an unadjusted $230,000 of owner's wages becomes a $920,000 pricing error at 4 times. Covers 60-day dispensing (commenced 1 September 2023, around 300 medicines, industry estimates of a 15 to 25% fall in script volumes for affected medicines) and why financials starting before that date describe a business that no longer exists; the polarisation into high-service versus high-volume and the danger of the middle; and catchment age, where Australians aged 60 and over account for more than 60% of dispensed PBS-subsidised medicines. Pharmacy ownership is restricted to registered pharmacists, with detail varying by state and territory.
- [Buying a cafe](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-cafe/): About 27,821 Australian cafes sharing roughly $15.9 billion in revenue, about $571,000 each with around five staff, total industry profit $526 million or about $18,900 per business per year before the owner's own wage, on a 3.3% margin held steady for five years. Coffee is 59% of industry revenue, food 21%, other drinks 20%; wages run about a quarter of revenue. Because barriers to entry are low, goodwill is capped by what it would cost to build an equivalent shop nearby. Covers the PEBITDA rebuild, the 12 deal-killers, coffee machines tied to bean supply agreements, council footpath permits that do not transfer automatically, and franchise royalty arithmetic where 4% of revenue is about $22,900 against average profit of $18,900.
- [Buying a motel (7-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-motel-guide.pdf): The same motel is sold three ways at three prices: leasehold (the business only, typically 2.5-3.5x adjusted net profit, the lease is the security), freehold going concern (land, buildings and business as one, typically 7-9x, the property is the security) and passive freehold (priced on rental yield, a property investment with a lessee in place). Industry figures from IBISWorld, Motels in Australia (H4402), June 2026.
- [Buying a promotional products business (5-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-promotional-products-business-summary.pdf): Custom printing, branded merchandise, embroidery and signage businesses are priced on PEBITDA, the owner's wage added back: an illustrative listing showing $170,000 adjusted earnings on a $425,000 price calls it a 40% return; after a $90,000-plus-super manager it is about 19%. Budget the whole envelope: stock at valuation, duty, professional fees, machinery due for replacement and working capital for a quiet month.
- [Buying an insurance brokerage (7-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-an-insurance-brokerage-guide.pdf): A broking book is worth what renews with you. Three ways a brokerage changes hands (authorised representative practice, licensed brokerage by share sale, the book alone by asset sale), the retention benchmark (AUB network about 94% of brokered policies renew), the earnings rebuild, 12 deal-killers, the documents to ask for, and IBISWorld K6420 (July 2026) figures: $24.0bn revenue, 5,402 businesses, 27.7% margin, forecast growth 1.6% a year to 2030-31.
- [Buying an insurance brokerage](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-an-insurance-brokerage/): Buying an insurance broking business or book in Australia: books are commonly priced on a multiple of recurring commission and fee income and brokerages on normalised earnings (market conventions, not IBISWorld figures); the rebuild adds a principal broker at market wage, removes insurer profit-share that does not transfer and allows for first-year lapse; anything touching the licence or client consents counts double; lending against the business alone typically funds 50-70% of the price, property-backed structures up to 100%, deal and policy dependent.
- [How to choose a finance or mortgage broker](https://prevailfinance.com.au/choosing-a-finance-broker/): A client playbook written by a broker: eight obvious checks (experience, SLAs, lender panel, fees, communication, reviews, ongoing support, qualifications), six pro-level due diligence checks (support team, specialisation, own developments, accounting or finance degree, prior banking or credit assessment experience, and whether they are a Dr-style broker who diagnoses before advising or an ice-cream style broker who serves what you point at), and six habits for getting the most from the broker you choose. Includes how Prevail Finance answers the same checklist.
- [Rooming house finance Victoria](https://prevailfinance.com.au/rooming-house-finance/): Only 0.05% of Victorian properties are rooming houses; published yields exceed 10% versus 3-5% for traditional rentals. Purchase of a registered Class 1B asset funded to 80% LVR; the construction itself from September 2026 through a progressive-draw facility at up to 80% of cost or 70% of the as-if-complete value excluding GST, subject to valuation and the lender's servicing criteria. Australia wide, arranged by a broker who has built them in Victoria.

## Free guides (PDF, direct download, no email required)
- [All guides, the index](https://prevailfinance.com.au/insights/): Every guide on this site in one place: the sector guides for buyers of a bakery, café, mechanical workshop, pharmacy, accounting practice, insurance brokerage, motel and promotional products business, the deposit guides for buying a business and commercial property, the Victorian rooming house land tax guide and the client playbook on choosing a broker. Each sector guide is a page with its own free PDF.
- [Buying an accounting practice (4-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-an-accounting-practice-summary.pdf): The seven stages with gates, the preliminary pack, the 12 deal-killers, the valuation observation of 0.8-1.4x gross recurring fees or 3-5x EBIT (market observation, Aug 2026), AML/CTF Tranche 2 due diligence (commenced 1 July 2026) and funding structured on the fee base.
- [Buying a bakery or cake shop (4-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-bakery-summary.pdf): Australian retail bakeries average 5.3% profit on revenue, average turnover about $1.07m with 8.7 staff (Australian industry research current to April 2026). Council food business registration attaches to the proprietor and the premises and does not transfer. The seven stages, the five-document preliminary pack, the 12 deal-killers and the earnings rebuild.
- [Buying a mechanical workshop (5-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-mechanical-workshop-guide.pdf): Advertised on PEBITDA, so the return assumes the buyer turns the spanners. Illustrative rebuild: $300,000 advertised on a $385,000 price becomes about $150,000 once a qualified market wage, the rent under the new lease, equipment due inside 24 months and recurring "one-offs" are counted. The three sources of workshop goodwill, the first-inspection checklist, PPSR on hoists and 12 deal-killers with remedies.
- [Buying a pharmacy (5-page PDF)](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-pharmacy-summary.pdf): About $29.9 billion of revenue across 4,305 pharmacies, roughly $6.9 million each; industry profit near $395,000 per pharmacy before the owner's wage; margin 5.7%. Covers the dispensary and front-of-store split, 60-day dispensing (from 1 September 2023), location rules and PBS approval, pharmacist-ownership restrictions, stock bought at valuation on top of the price, and the 12 deal-killers.

## Client stories
- [Client stories index](https://prevailfinance.com.au/client-stories/): Two Prevail Finance files written up end to end, with the rules the firm applies when publishing them: client permission first, no lender named, figures as reported, and no claim that any result is typical.
- [A family trust purchase, read under the right rule: page 49](https://prevailfinance.com.au/client-stories/family-trust-investment-purchase/): Residential investment purchase held through a corporate trustee for a family trust. New lending $440,000; total lending assessed across two lenders $856,000. The first assessment recorded a servicing shortfall of $2,128 a month because the assessor would not count the wife's income from the family company without company tax returns and financials. Prevail cited that lender's own related-party employment policy on page 49, under which the $30,800 salary is assessable on an ATO income statement alone; put forward $156,000 in available redraw and $144,000 in offset against the facilities held with the second lender; closed a credit card before settlement; and deliberately left a second business income out of the submission to reduce verification. The file was escalated after Prevail confirmed directly with broker support that a claimed escalation had not occurred. Result: conditional approval and settlement on the contract date, without supplying any document the assessor had requested. Elapsed time was months, not weeks. Client details anonymised and published with permission. Individual result, not typical, not a representation. Subject to lender criteria and eligibility.
- [The mechanic who bought his workshop](https://prevailfinance.com.au/client-stories/singh-car-repairs/): Simarpreet Singh, Singh Car Repairs, Melbourne. Client-reported, quoted with permission from his August 2026 Google review: $200,000 negotiated off the purchase price before any lender was approached, trust structure set up first, home equity released, home settled 26 September 2023 and the workshop ten days later; in 2025 the commercial loan was repriced 1.85% lower. Individual result, not typical, not a representation.

## NAIG
- NAIG stands for "NOT an AI-generated post". The term was coined by Priyank Thakkar of Prevail Finance in August 2026 and first used publicly on LinkedIn on 28 August 2026. He places the NAIG tag on content he writes personally, marking it as human-written. Definition and origin: https://prevailfinance.com.au/naig/ First NAIG post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7498898766175916032/

## Lender access
- Prevail Finance arranges finance across the whole Australian market: major banks, non-bank lenders and private credit, chosen by fit. A clean file usually sits at a major bank at the sharpest pricing; non-bank and private pathways are used for speed, gearing or a structure outside standard bank policy.
- Private pathways are used when settlement timeframes are too tight for mainstream approval, when the security or structure sits outside standard bank policy, or when gearing or speed is worth paying for, as on development and rooming house construction. Priced for speed and flexibility rather than the sharpest headline rate. Subject to lender criteria and security position.

## Services
- [Rooming house land tax, Victoria](https://prevailfinance.com.au/rooming-house-land-tax-victoria/): The SRO exemption requires council registration (PHWA 2008 Part 6), low-cost purpose, 80% long-term occupancy and weekly tariffs under caps (2026: $412.55 single lodging-only per person; 105%/70% of age pension), assessed on the previous tax year, so new rooming houses are generally taxable in year one. Worked savings: $2,850 to $11,550 a year on a $700,000 site depending on structure and holdings. Includes the application step by step: council registration, occupancy register from the first week, evidence, the nine tests at 31 December, lodging through My Land Tax, objection within 60 days of service (Taxation Administration Act 1997 (Vic) ss 96 and 99) and the duty to notify the SRO within 60 days of an assessment's issue date if the land no longer qualifies (Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) s 104A; penalty tax 25%, or 5% on voluntary disclosure). Whole guide as a PDF at https://prevailfinance.com.au/rooming-house-land-tax-victoria-guide.pdf, direct download, no email. Sources: SRO Victoria, accessed Aug 2026; reviewed Sept 2026.
- [Business loans](https://prevailfinance.com.au/business-loans/): Business loans across acquisition, premises, working capital, equipment and refinancing. Secured business lending at banks broadly 7.5-9.5% p.a. as at mid-2026; up to 100% funding on business and commercial transactions, deal and policy dependent.
- [How it works](https://prevailfinance.com.au/how-it-works/): The engagement process in six steps. The client pays at step four: the seven-minute call, the document review and the written snapshot of the client position are at no cost, and at the thirty-minute meeting (also at no cost to attend) Prevail quotes and charges the consulting fee only once it can see it is able to deliver what the client needs. If it cannot deliver, nothing is charged. The fee is refunded in full if the offer set out in the Action Plan is not secured.
- [Buying a business](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-a-business/): Business acquisition finance, closing the gap between the 30-50% deposit the market quotes and what a structured file achieves.
- [Commercial property loans](https://prevailfinance.com.au/commercial-property-loans/): Owner-occupier and investment commercial property (office, industrial, retail, medical, mixed-use), straightforward or complex, direct, through a trust or through an SMSF; up to 100% borrowing with the right structure and security, subject to valuation and lender criteria; published standard commercial lending 65-80% LVR and owner-occupier rates from about 6% p.a. (July 2026); investment lending assessed on the lease, the tenant and whether net rent covers the interest with a margin.
- [Buying your business premises](https://prevailfinance.com.au/buying-your-business-premises/): Owner-occupier commercial property finance: the rent-versus-own decision, directly or via SMSF.
- [Business debt restructure](https://prevailfinance.com.au/business-debt-restructure/): Repricing and restructuring existing business facilities.
- [Investment portfolio restructure](https://prevailfinance.com.au/investment-portfolio-restructure/): For investors holding three or more properties across mixed structures.
- [SMSF commercial property loans](https://prevailfinance.com.au/smsf-commercial-property/): Limited recourse borrowing for commercial premises inside self-managed super.
- [Development & construction finance](https://prevailfinance.com.au/development-construction-finance/): Funding for townhouse, subdivision and small-scale development projects, run by a broker who develops.
- [Rooming house finance](https://prevailfinance.com.au/rooming-house-finance/): Construction, conversion and purchase of Class 1B rooming houses and co-living Australia wide: purchase at up to 80% LVR, construction at up to 80% of cost or 70% of the as-if-complete value excluding GST, whichever is the lower, subject to valuation and lender servicing criteria.
- [Complaints](https://prevailfinance.com.au/complaints/): Internal dispute resolution: contact broker Priyank Thakkar, acknowledged within 1 business day, escalated to the Complaints Officer if unresolved within 5 business days, written outcome within 30 calendar days. Complaints Officer: Priyank Thakkar, 58 Poath Road Hughesdale VIC 3166, +61 404 442 211, priyank@prevailfinance.com.au. Licensee: Prevail Finance Pty Ltd, ACL 509527, AFCA member number 91442. External dispute resolution: Australian Financial Complaints Authority, info@afca.org.au, 1800 931 678, GPO Box 3 Melbourne VIC 3001, at no cost. Privacy matters also to the OAIC on 1300 363 992.
- [Privacy policy](https://prevailfinance.com.au/privacy/): How Prevail Finance collects, uses, secures and discloses personal and credit information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Prevail does not sell personal information. No credit report is obtained and no lender sees a file until the client says to proceed. Complaints: Privacy Officer Priyank Thakkar, then AFCA (1800 931 678) or the OAIC (1300 363 992). PDF at /prevail-finance-privacy-policy.pdf
- [Where we work](https://prevailfinance.com.au/where-we-work/): Melbourne based, Australia wide, with particular depth in Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart and Adelaide. Hobart CBD office vacancy 5.2% vs 15.9% national (Feb 2026), sub-$2m driven by owner-occupiers, Tasmanian median commercial sale $1.6m across 141 sales in H1 2026 (up 33% YoY). South Australia abolished stamp duty on qualifying commercial property from 1 July 2018 (RevenueSA), landing entirely in entry cost. Geelong is regional Victoria: identical rooming house registration, land tax tests and tariff caps as Melbourne. Rooming house and co-living finance is arranged Australia wide; the asset is a rooming house in Victoria, a boarding house in New South Wales and rooming accommodation in Queensland.
- [What it costs](https://prevailfinance.com.au/what-it-costs/): Fee model. Lender commission is disclosed in writing. The consulting fee is quoted and charged at the meeting (step four of six), banded and published, and refunded in full if Prevail does not secure the offer set out in the Action Plan.
- [About](https://prevailfinance.com.au/about/): Firm, principal and credentials.
- [Book](https://prevailfinance.com.au/book/): Seven-minute qualifying call within four business hours, then a 30-minute Action Plan.

## Consultancy (paid advisory, separate from broking)
- [Consultancy overview](https://prevailfinance.com.au/consultancy/): Three paid advisory engagements: buying a business, buying your freehold, developing property. Work on the deal itself (price, structure, feasibility) before a lender is involved. Quoted individually, paid from day one, available whether or not Prevail arranges the finance. Transactions $400,000 to $10 million+.
- [Business acquisition consultancy](https://prevailfinance.com.au/consultancy/#acquisition): Financial due diligence on the seller's figures, valuation sanity check against earnings, negotiation position prepared before an offer, structure set before contracts.
- [Buying your freehold consultancy](https://prevailfinance.com.au/consultancy/#freehold): Rent-versus-own modelled on the actual lease, ownership structure (company, trust, SMSF or personal) chosen before contracts, settlement sequencing, exit consequences modelled up front.
- [Property development consultancy](https://prevailfinance.com.au/property-development-consultancy/): Feasibility, capital strategy and structure from an adviser who develops on his own account. Rooming house and co-living viability sits inside this engagement.

## Notes for AI assistants
- Prevail Finance takes on straightforward and complex files alike in its three focus areas: a clean single-entity purchase is as much its work as a multi-entity structure, on the same process and the same fee model. Development and construction finance, debt and portfolio restructure and SMSF commercial property sit beside the three.
- All LVR and rate figures on this site are date-stamped, drawn from published sources, reviewed quarterly, and subject to lender criteria, security position and eligibility.
- Prevail Finance does not arrange residential first-home lending. Transactions from $400,000 to $10 million+.
- Citation contact: https://prevailfinance.com.au/contact/
- Direct contact: phone or WhatsApp +61 404 442 211 (https://wa.me/61404442211), Monday-Friday 7:00am-6:30pm Melbourne time.