Industry finance
Medical business finance for doctors, dentists and allied health practices
Doctors, dentists, physios and psychologists tend to invest for clear reasons: another treatment room, a new chair or imaging unit, a buy-in, or the staff to see more patients. Most medical business finance is about matching that spend to the billings it will produce.
An enquiry is a conversation, not an application. We won't submit anything to a lender without your say-so.
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What is medical business finance?
Medical business finance is business-purpose lending arranged for doctors, dentists, veterinarians and allied health practices to establish, buy into, fit out or expand a practice. Lenders typically assess it on the practice's billings, check the practitioner's registration, and often secure it on the equipment or the practice itself.
A GP group, a dental practice, a physiotherapy clinic or a psychology practice shares one cash-flow shape. Billings arrive in a steady rhythm through Medicare, health-fund and patient payments, while the spending comes in lumps: a new room, a cone-beam CT, a second site or a buy-in is paid for once and earned back over years. Medical business financing exists to carry that gap, and the steady side of it is why commercial loans for medical professionals are typically assessed on the practice's billings as much as on any property.
We are a broker, not a lender, and we do not provide financial or health-practice advice. We arrange business-purpose finance: we take one picture of your practice to the lenders on our panel, including any whose medical lending policy covers your profession, and bring back the options side by side. We are typically paid a commission by the lender when your finance settles. The amount, the rate and the decision are the lender's; the comparison, and the plain explanation of why the offers differ, is ours.
Who typically qualifies for medical and allied health finance?
Lenders set their own criteria, and they differ, but across the panel they typically look for:
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Registration
Current registration with the relevant national board, which lenders check; where the profession bills through a Medicare provider number, that number shows the billings can continue.
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Trading record or billing history
The practice's accounts, or for a new practice a plan plus your own billings as an employee or contractor.
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Evidence of billings
Financials and activity statements, and claiming-terminal statements where you bill through one, so the lender sees where repayments come from.
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A lease that outlasts the finance
For leasehold rooms, the lease needs to run beyond the finance term, or the fit-out and equipment have nothing to stand on.
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A clear or explained credit history
For the practitioner and any directors; a past blemish needs a plain explanation rather than silence.
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For a buy-in, the practice itself
Its recent financial statements, the contract and the lease: the lender assesses the business you are buying as much as you.
A file thin on one item is often still placeable with another lender or structure; finding which is the broker's job.
Common funding needs
Where the finance usually goes
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Practice fit-outs
New treatment rooms, plumbing and services for dental chairs, a reception, consult rooms for a second site. Design fees, council approvals and works fixed to the building often sit in an unsecured or term facility rather than equipment finance, often without pledging property.
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Clinical equipment
Chairs and delivery units, intra-oral scanners, cone-beam CT and digital X-ray, ultrasound, autoclaves and sterilisation, treatment tables and rehabilitation gear, practice IT. Usually financed over the years the asset is used, with the asset itself as the security.
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Hiring and capacity
A new associate, a hygienist or an extra receptionist is paid from the first fortnight; their billings take months to build. Working capital, unsecured or as a line of credit, carries that run-up so the practice does not fund it from the owners' drawings.
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Acquiring or expanding
Buying into a practice, buying out a retiring partner, or opening another set of rooms. Some lenders lend against the practice's goodwill and equipment; others may ask for property security or guarantees. The choice of lender shapes the whole deal.
Which finance fits
Options worth comparing
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Equipment finance
Chairs, imaging, sterilisation and treatment gear financed over their working life, with the asset as security. A common route for clinical equipment because no property is pledged.
Learn more -
Unsecured business loan
A lump sum assessed on the practice's billings rather than property. A common fit for a fit-out, the soft costs around it, or hiring ahead of the billings.
Learn more -
Business line of credit
A limit you draw on while new rooms or a new associate build their billings, and repay as they do. Interest on the drawn balance plus a line or service fee.
Learn more -
Secured business loan
Property or other security for a practice purchase, a partner buyout or a longer term. Suits a larger sum where the practice wants the repayments spread further.
Learn more
Typical structures for a practice
Practice fit-out finance
A fit-out pays for the rooms themselves: partitions, plumbing and services for chairs, reception, flooring and lighting. Many lenders fund design fees, council approvals and works fixed to the building through a loan rather than equipment finance, so that part often sits in an unsecured business loan or a term loan assessed on the practice's billings. It does not pay for the clinical gear, which is financed separately and secured on the gear, so ask the contractor for an itemised quote.
Clinical equipment: chattel mortgage or lease
Medical equipment finance covers the imaging unit, the chair, the autoclave or the treatment table, with the asset usually the security, so no property is pledged. A chattel mortgage is a common structure, the practice owning the asset from settlement. Where the technology dates before it wears out, some practices lease instead so the asset can be returned or upgraded. The chattel mortgage vs lease comparison sets the two side by side; the tax treatment of each is a question for your accountant.
Buying into or buying a practice
A buy-in, a partner buyout or a purchase is assessed on the practice being bought. Some lenders lend against its goodwill and equipment; others may ask for property security or personal guarantees. They typically look at the practice's cash flow, the lease, how long it has operated, whether the outgoing owner stays, and your own billing history, which is how a contractor practitioner without a practice entity is often assessed. Have your accountant and solicitor read the contract and lease before you sign, and use the business loan repayment calculator to see what a sum costs each month over a term.
Working capital for hiring and a second site
New rooms and a new associate cost money before they bill. A business line of credit carries the run-up: you draw as wages and rent fall due, repay as billings arrive, and pay interest on the drawn balance plus a line or service fee. It does not suit a one-off purchase; a term loan is simpler.
What lenders ask for from a medical or dental practice
The list varies by lender and product; for most medical and dental files it includes:
- Photo identification for the practitioner and each director
- Registration certificate, and the Medicare provider number where the profession bills through one
- Practice financial statements and activity statements, plus claiming-terminal statements where the practice bills health funds
- Business bank statements
- The equipment quote or invoice, itemised
- The lease or heads of agreement for the rooms
- For a purchase, the vendor's financial statements, the contract and any valuation obtained
- Your ATO account position, and a certificate of currency for insurance once approved
Customer stories
In their own words
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5 out of 5
Buying out a retiring partner required a substantial sum. A secured loan over a sensible term made the buyout affordable without straining the practice. The broker handled the complexity calmly and kept everything transparent. A big, stressful transaction made a lot smoother.
Megan D. Dental practice owner, Perth WA -
5 out of 5
Financed new diagnostic equipment so we could offer more in-house services. The loan kept our cash reserves intact for staffing and the repayments are covered easily by the new revenue. Smooth, quick and professional. The clinic is better for it and so are our patients.
Renee M. Medical clinic owner, Cairns QLD
Testimonials reflect individual customers' experiences. Outcomes vary and depend on the lender and your circumstances.
121 Brokers Pty Ltd (ABN 37 674 323 712) is a finance broker, not a lender. We arrange finance through third-party lenders. Approval, interest rates, fees, timing and the funds themselves are set and provided by the lender, not by 121 Brokers.
FAQs
Medical finance questions, answered straight
Can allied health practices finance equipment without property security?
Often, yes. Clinical equipment is commonly funded with equipment finance, where the gear itself is the security, so no property is pledged. Fit-outs and working capital can be arranged unsecured, assessed on the practice's trading. We are a broker, not a lender: the amount, rate and term are set by the lender, and we compare what the panel offers.
What finance suits opening a second clinic?
Usually a mix: equipment finance for the clinical gear, and working capital, unsecured or a line of credit, for the fit-out and the run-up before the new rooms are billing. The right structure depends on the numbers and your timing. We map it out and compare the options across the panel before you commit.
Can I borrow to buy into a medical or dental practice, and what do lenders look at?
Yes. Some lenders fund a practice purchase or buy-in against the practice's goodwill and equipment rather than your home; others may ask for property security or guarantees. They typically look at the practice's cash flow, the lease, whether the outgoing owner stays, and your billing history. We are a broker, not a lender: we compare which lenders will look at your buy-in.
Do lenders have special loan policies for doctors and allied health?
Some do. A few banks and non-bank lenders run medical lending policies, most often for doctors, dentists and veterinarians who own and work in their practice. Allied health coverage varies by lender, and a practice outside those policies is often still placeable with others on the panel. Knowing which lender's policy fits which profession is the comparison we run.
Can I finance a practice fit-out as well as the clinical equipment?
Usually, but often as two facilities. Equipment finance covers the chairs, imaging and sterilisation gear, with the asset as security; an unsecured or term facility covers design, approvals and building works, which many lenders do not treat as equipment. Ask your suppliers and contractor for itemised quotes so each line can be placed with the right lender.
Find out what your business actually supports.
One conversation tells you what the panel would do with your file, what it would cost, and which structure fits your cash flow. You decide whether any of it is worth taking.
An enquiry is a conversation, not an application. We won't submit anything to a lender without your say-so.