Kalpi Prasad Commits $400 Million to SME Lending in Australia

‘Too many business owners are being told “no” by traditional lenders and forced into borrowing at extreme rates,’ Prasad says.

Loan Terms and Limits

Residential security in Sydney and Melbourne metro areas supports loans up to $10 million at 70% loan-to-value ratio. Commercial and mixed-use properties qualify for up to $3 million at 65% LVR. Land in major metros supports up to $5 million at 50% LVR. Interest-only terms run from three to 36 months with establishment fees between 1.75% and 1.85%.

Applicants submit either an accountant’s declaration or three months of trading statements and BAS returns. Acceptable security includes houses, strata units, warehouses, factories, offices, retail spaces and light industrial property in eligible areas across NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and WA. Loan purposes range from fit-outs and inventory to tax timing, debt consolidation and general business purchases.

‘Many of these businesses are fundamentally viable,’ says Mitchell Chadevski, Renown’s General Manager. ‘The issue is liquidity, not solvency.’

How the Capital Was Built

Renown secured an initial $100 million through a partnership with Chris Krotiris (Principal at Marlbury Capital, former deputy CEO at Samaras Group), then committed $250 million specifically to South Australian small businesses and builders before expanding the pool nationally to $400 million. The firm has also launched white label and wholesale funding programmes for mortgage brokers seeking to offer non-bank products under their own brand.

Hajarah Zahoor, Renown’s Business Development Manager, is based in London and focused on international capital partnerships. The firm’s lending book remains domestic.

Australia’s Private Credit Market at $188 Billion

Australia’s private credit market has grown to roughly $188 billion. One in four SMEs now plan to use some form of private credit to fund business investment. Regulatory expansion of the Consumer Data Right to non-bank lenders from 2026 will bring them into the same data-sharing framework as banks. Non-bank lending is no longer an alternative channel.

Whether Renown’s thesis (that businesses turned away by banks are underpriced credit risks, not bad ones) holds at scale will depend on discipline as the book grows. But the demand side is not in question.