We're here for the businesses around the square

Who we help

Funding Square is built for New Zealand's main-street and neighbourhood businesses: cafés and restaurants, bars, retail shops, hair and beauty salons, barbers, gyms and studios, health clinics, vets, tourism operators and trades that run a counter or workshop the public walks into. They are the businesses you can see from the town square, and the ones that make a town feel like a town.

These businesses share a few things that general lending websites rarely take into account. Takings are lumpy and seasonal. A big chunk of money is tied up in a fit-out that only has value while the lease runs. Tax bills land when they land, regardless of whether it was a wet January. And the owner is usually behind the counter, not behind a desk, so the paperwork needs to be simple.

What we do

We help owners work out what kind of funding suits the job in front of them, then match them with a lending option that fits. That might be property-secured borrowing ($20,000 to $5,000,000 secured against property) when there's a home or commercial property to use, or an unsecured, cash-flow based option (typically $5,000 to $500,000) sized on turnover and bank statements for businesses that are trading well but don't want to put property up. Bad credit and IRD debt considered case by case. All lending is for business purposes only.

We also publish plain-English guides for main-street owners — on leases, fit-out budgets, buying an existing café, seasonal cash and the bills that catch people out in their first year — plus two free tools: the main-street cash gap estimator and the fit-out budget checklist.

The promises we keep

We don't publish interest rates. That isn't us being cagey: every business is priced on its own circumstances, so a headline number would only mislead you. You'll get a straight explanation of costs before anything is signed.

How we work

Every enquiry is read by a person, not sorted by an algorithm and auctioned off. They'll ring you, ask about the business and the season you're in, and tell you honestly whether there's a fit. If there isn't, we'll say so. You can read the full process on how it works.

The more accurately you fill in the enquiry form — amount, purpose, region, trading history and whether you own property — the better that first conversation goes.

Who operates Funding Square

Funding Square is operated by Leadsource International Manager Limited (NZBN 9429047325371), trading as Funding Square. Our office is at 14 Hazeldean Road, Christchurch 8023. You can call us on 09 875 4577.

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