Investors FAQ

Established in 2016, Aquamore is an Australian lender specialising in providing innovative, flexible and affordable short-term business finance. Some time ago, we recognised that Australian SMEs needing commercial lending solutions were typically hamstrung by a conservative lending culture, rigid processes and inflexible loan amounts. We knew that we could provide a better solution. We work to make our lending application process as seamless and efficient as possible so that more Australian businesses can receive funding to help realise their goals and grow.

The Aquamore team is small but exceptionally skilled and experienced. The team includes Business Development Manager Rachel Walsh, who is based in Queensland and joined the team after a successful career in second-tier lending.

Our Sydney-based Business Development Manager, Richard Planca, has a strong background in development finance.

A member of the Women in Commercial Finance Forum (WCFF), Business Development Manager, Deepti Alurkar, is located in Melbourne.

Our Head of Third Party Distribution, Matthew Porch, joined us following various relationship and credit roles at one of the big banks. As part of his Sydney-based role here at Aquamore, Matthew ensures a smooth end-to-end service for referral partners.

We are financed by a combination of equity capital and funding from an institutional bank and other companies that share our vision and goals. We then provide real estate-backed loans to SMEs. You may wish to read more about the recent $50m increase to our warehouse facility, lifting it to $170M. This means our total funding available to borrowers is more than $220 million.

We make it as fast and easy as possible! Firstly, to be clear, Aquamore loan applications are undertaken by brokers acting on behalf of SMEs, not the SMEs directly. The broker must use an application form relevant to the specific Aquamore service and product required. This is easily found on the specific product page. Alternatively, there is an apply for a loan button on our home page menu. Simply click on the application button and commence the process. You can move back and forth in the application, save it and return to it instead of completing it all at once.

Should you not have the necessary documentation at the point of application, in most instances, we still allow you to move ahead and will gather materials at a later date. Depending on the loan and details involved, we envisage the process taking approximately 15 minutes!

We know it’s important to move quickly so that SMEs are freed up to get things done and grow! As such, it is not uncommon for us to approve a loan in 48 hours.

We offer loans to Australian SMEs. You may wish to read about some Aquamore loan case studies to get a better idea of the diversity of SMEs we support and the reasons they require loans in the first place. Although we provide loans to SMEs, it is their brokers who apply.

One of the reasons we established Aquamore was because we could see how the industry was set in its ways. A more flexible, open-minded approach to lending was required, and we were the right business to make that happen! That’s a long way of saying that we review every loan application on its own merit. However, as a guide loans typically start at AU$300,000.

As we’ve mentioned above, we tend to keep an open mind when reviewing every application. However, typically our maximum loan is AU$5-million.

No, we don’t. SME brokers apply for funding on behalf of their clients, and we liaise with the brokers. We strongly believe this system makes the process as efficient as possible for all parties.

Yes – we very openly state that brokers successfully acting on behalf of their client will receive a commission from Aquamore. This is standard industry practice.

No – Aquamore is not a bank. We provide commercial lending solutions to small Australian businesses.

Aquamore is different from other typical lenders in several crucial ways. These include:

• Speed – applications (which typically take just 15 minutes to complete) are often processed in 72 hours.
• Simplicity – we make the online application as straightforward as possible. We don’t delay the process by demanding evidence at certain steps – we permit the application to move forward, provided all documentation is ultimately submitted.
• Flexible loan amounts – we don’t provide too little or too much; we work to loan the amount just right for each SME.
• Competitive rates – we maintain very competitive loan rates.
• Flexible terms and conditions – we don’t want SMEs to have to jump through more hoops with us. We aim to make our Ts & Cs as flexible as possible.

Most importantly, we are people who care for Australian business. We will do everything we can to make the loan application a smooth and successful one. You may wish to read our blog article about how we simplify loan applications.