FNB Offers SMEs Up to 110% Commercial Property Finance

Plenty of South African small businesses could comfortably carry a bond. What they can’t always carry is the lump sum needed to get one: a deposit, transfer duty, bond registration costs, all due before the doors even open under new ownership. FNB Commercial Property Finance has introduced a solution built around that specific gap, offering qualifying SMEs up to 110% funding, including bond-related costs, on commercial property valued at up to R7.5 million.

Why South African Tenants Are Reaching Their Limit

The timing tracks with what’s happening on the ground. TPN Credit Bureau’s inaugural 2026 Voice of the Commercial Tenant Report, which surveyed 950 businesses across retail, office, industrial and mixed-use sectors, found that more than half of commercial tenants now say rental escalations above 4% are no longer sustainable. A further 38% describe themselves as sitting in a “neutral” holding pattern on their lease, not quite ready to leave, not entirely comfortable staying either.

That pressure sits alongside a market where owning has become more achievable than it once was. Industry research on South Africa’s commercial real estate sector points to corporates and SMEs accounting for 59% of commercial space demand in 2025, with discounted loan-to-value ratios and more flexible mortgage products from local banks lowering the entry threshold for owner-occupiers. FNB‘s offer fits squarely into that shift, a bank-backed answer to a cost-of-occupation problem that SA’s small business owners have been living with for years.

Preggie Pillay, CEO of FNB Commercial Property Finance, frames it as a mismatch between business performance and access. “Many entrepreneurs have built strong businesses and generated consistent cash flow over time. The obstacle is often the significant upfront capital traditionally required to acquire commercial property. For growing businesses, that can mean postponing opportunities that would otherwise support expansion and long-term value creation.”

What Qualifying SMEs Can Access

The offer centres on three numbers worth knowing if you’re a business owner weighing this up: up to 110% funding, on properties valued up to R7.5 million, with bond-related costs folded into that financing rather than left for the buyer to find separately. In practice, that means the deposit and the transfer and registration costs, the part that usually keeps a viable business renting for another few years, are no longer the sticking point they’d otherwise be.

Pillay says, ” When more SMEs are empowered to move from renting to owning, the impact extends far beyond individual businesses. Ownership creates the confidence to invest, expand and create jobs. Making commercial property ownership more accessible is not simply about financing buildings. It is about unlocking growth.”

For many entrepreneurs, owning their premises is more than a business milestone. It is an investment in their future, a foundation for sustainable growth and a powerful step towards building long-term value.