Buying Your First Freehold Pub or Hotel in FY27
First Freehold Pub or Hotel Buyer | Switchboard Finance
Accommodation Finance
Freehold Venue · Going Concern · First-Time Buyer
Buying Your First Freehold Pub or Hotel in FY27
A first-time buyer can finance a freehold pub or hotel, despite the myth that you need years of licensed-venue history and a full bank-sized pile of cash first. The deal is read on the strength of the venue, so the first freehold step-up is very much fundable, and FY27 is a clean year to take it.
Quick Answer
A first-time buyer can absolutely finance a freehold pub or hotel, because lenders weigh the venue's trade and its going-concern value, not just your history. The deal runs through the licensed-venue lending lane of pub and hotel finance, where the freehold and the trade carry the structure together.
Can a first-time buyer really finance a freehold pub?
A first-time buyer can finance a first freehold pub or hotel, as long as the venue's trade stacks up. The common assumption is that you need years of licensed-venue ownership behind you before a lender will entertain a big freehold. From the underwriter's seat, what counts far more is the quality of the going concern you are buying and how much of the price you can put in.
You are buying the bricks and the licence in one move, so the lender assesses the freehold property and the trading business as a single risk. That is the job of pub and hotel finance, a specialist lane built around licensed venues rather than plain commercial premises. It is also why a first-timer with a strong venue can out-position a repeat buyer chasing a weak one.
First-time buyer versus repeat buyer: what actually changes
Between a first-time buyer and a repeat operator, less changes than most people expect, but the few differences are the ones that decide the deal.
A repeat buyer brings a track record the lender can read quickly. A first-time buyer leans harder on three things instead: a credible operating plan, clean trading figures for the venue, and a deposit shaped by the going concern, not only the bricks. The going-concern value sits in the trade, not just the walls, so a healthy, well-run venue can carry a first-timer further than a tired one carries a veteran.
In practice a first freehold venue typically asks for around a 30 to 35 percent contribution, indicative and varies by lender, and a stronger trade can pull it lower. Whether the venue is freehold or leasehold changes how the lender secures the loan, and the gaming entitlement is read as part of the trade. You can see how the bricks, gaming and trade come apart once a venue is read as a freehold going concern.
Are you a ready first-time buyer?
You are a ready first-time buyer when your deposit, your figures and your plan all point the same way. From the underwriter's seat, the gap between an easy approval and a slow decline is rarely the building; it is how well the buyer has prepared the story around the trade.
A Ready First-Time Owner
- A deposit shaped by the going concern, not only the bricks
- A clear operating plan for the licence and the trade
- Clean BAS and trading figures the lender can verify
- A broker-packaged story that explains the step-up
An Underprepared First-Time Owner
- A deposit sized only against the bricks, ignoring the trade
- No plan for the gaming, bar and dining trade
- Patchy figures the lender cannot stand behind
- A cold application with no context for the jump
On the broker's side of the desk, most of the work before an application is closing those gaps: tidying the BAS and trading figures, sizing the deposit against the going concern, and writing a plain operating plan for the gaming, bar and dining trade. Get those lined up and the licensed-venue lending lane opens quickly. It sits within our wider accommodation finance hub.
FY27 gives a first venue purchase a clean runway
FY27 is a steady backdrop for a first freehold purchase. The New South Wales and Queensland state budgets, both handed down on 23 June 2026, left the settings a venue buyer cares about, payroll tax, land tax and transfer duty, broadly unchanged for 2026-27.
Transfer duty is usually the single biggest one-off cost on a freehold, so knowing it is stable lets you size the deposit and the contribution with confidence. If the bricks need funding in their own right, a commercial property loan can sit alongside the venue finance, which we walk through in the FY27 freehold venue guide. The wider budget picture for buyers this year is covered in our guide to buying an accommodation business in FY27.
Line the finance up to settle into the new financial year and you start trading with the year ahead of you, not behind you. That is the quiet advantage of the first freehold step-up: you are not racing a deadline, you are timing a clean start.
Buying your first freehold pub or hotel is less about how long you have owned venues and more about the going concern you are stepping into. Fund the deposit against the trade as well as the bricks, bring clean figures and a plain operating plan, and let the licensed-venue lending lane do the rest. With state-tax settings steady into FY27, the first freehold step-up is a sensible move to time for the new financial year.
Key takeaway: a first freehold pub or hotel is financeable when the going concern is strong and the deposit is shaped by the trade, not just the walls.Frequently Asked Questions
A first-time buyer can finance a freehold pub when the venue's trade and going-concern value support the loan. Lenders in the licensed-venue lending lane weigh the quality of the going concern and your contribution more heavily than years of ownership. A broker-packaged application that explains the step-up does most of the heavy lifting.
The deposit on a freehold pub or hotel is typically around a 30 to 35 percent contribution, though this is indicative and varies by lender and by the strength of the going concern. Because the venue is valued as a going concern, your loan-to-value ratio is shaped by the trade, not only the bricks. A stronger, cleaner trade can mean a lower contribution.
Freehold means you own the building and the land as well as the business, while leasehold means you own the trade but rent the premises. Buying the freehold means you are buying the bricks and the licence in one move, which changes how the lender secures and values the deal. Most first-time buyers chasing long-term control go freehold.
Lenders do count the gaming, bar and dining trade when valuing a pub, because a licensed venue is valued as a going concern where the value sits in the trade, not just the walls. This is why two pubs with identical buildings can carry very different valuations. You can read how this plays out in our guide to how a pub is valued as a going concern.
A commercial property loan can fund the freehold bricks of a licensed venue, and it usually sits alongside specialist pub and hotel finance that covers the going concern. The structure depends on how the lender splits the bricks from the trade. A commercial property loan on its own rarely captures the licence and the trade, so the two are packaged together.
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