Business

Is It More Affordable to Build or Buy a Commercial Building?

Published

4 years ago

February 7, 2022

As a business or investor, you may be looking to purchase new commercial property. There is an alternative, however.

There are many factors when considering building your structure from the ground up. Which is the smarter and more affordable option?

Survey The Property

Regardless of what you’re looking to buy, you’ll want to have it professionally surveyed. This allows you to see if there are any repairs, maintenance, or renovations that need to be made.

Having quality groundwork, for instance, is something only a surveyor can assess. They are able to provide options such as ground improvement stone columns to offer stability, improve load-bearing capacity, and reduce any further settlement.

Consider Downpayments and Renovations

Buildings that are already constructed will require some type of downpayment if you’re not intending to pay cash in full. This money will need to be saved ahead of time and provided by the investor upon requesting a loan.

There’s also a high probability that the location you decide upon won’t meet the exact specifications for your business’s needs. You’ll have to consider any renovations or building additions needed to suit your investment goals.

New builds allow you to create exactly what you want from the very beginning. The stipulation is that you’ll need to hire contractors and architecture firms, plus buy the land you intend to build on.

Look Into Tax Breaks

Investing in commercial real estate could offer some substantial tax breaks you may not be aware of. This applies more specifically if you’re bringing new jobs into the city. They think of it as an investment in your investment.

Properties that are considered historic buildings can be eligible for grants or low-interest loans to restore the building while preserving the integrity of the architecture.

Purchasing a building that already exists can also lead to tax deductions on the interest you’re paying. However, your building also depreciates the minute you purchase it.

While building new construction doesn’t lead to as many tax benefits, there are still certainly a few you could benefit from, such as the 179D Commercial Buildings Energy-Efficient Tax Deduction.

Think About How Soon You Need Your Property

One crucial element that a lot of investors don’t take into consideration is time. With new construction, it can take anywhere from two to six months, if not more, to complete the build. Plus, you’ll have to make sure it meets all laws and regulations according to the state and city guidelines.

A benefit of buying a property that’s already been built means you’ll only have to consider the timeframe for repairs, renovations, and decorating. You could be saving money simply because the longer your building is out of commission, the longer you won’t be making any income.

Potential To Recoup Costs Through Sub-Leasing

Buying or building a larger commercial property gives you the opportunity for sub-leasing. If you’re buying a building outright, it may not accommodate another business leasing out an office space.

If you decide to build out a new property, you can make it larger than you anticipate your needs being and sub-lease. It’s a larger investment from the beginning, but if you work out the numbers, you could easily recoup costs and make an even more significant stream of revenue.

Eventually, if your business needs to expand, you can utilize the extra space previously leased by other tenants for yourself.

Summary

There is no clear-cut answer as to which is the more affordable option, to buy or to build, when it comes to commercial real estate. There are several factors to take into consideration, with the most important being your budget.

Work with a professional accountant to look into your personal investments, outside investors, and any potential help you could get from applying for a loan. Understand clearly what your end goal is so they can help decipher whether new construction or buying pre-built is a better option for you.

Business

Inside the $4.3B Quarter: What’s Fueling Black Banx’s Record Revenues

Published

14 hours ago

January 16, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Every quarter brings fresh headlines in fintech, but few make the kind of impact achieved by Black Banx in Q2 2025. The Toronto-based global digital banking group, founded by Michael Gastauer, reported an extraordinary USD 4.3 billion in revenue and a record USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, while improving its cost-to-income ratio to 63%.

These results not only highlight the company’s operational efficiency but also mark a pivotal moment in its journey from challenger to global leader. The big question is: what’s fueling such impressive financial performance?

Customer Growth as the Core Driver

One of the clearest engines of revenue growth is Black Banx’s expanding customer base. By Q2 2025, the platform had reached 84 million clients worldwide, up from 69 million at the end of 2024. This 15 million net gain in six months demonstrates both the attractiveness of its services and the scalability of its model.

Unlike traditional banks, which rely heavily on branch expansion, Black Banx leverages digital-first onboarding that allows customers to open accounts within minutes using just a smartphone. This approach is especially effective in regions underserved by legacy institutions, where access to affordable financial tools is in high demand.

More customers don’t just mean higher transaction volumes—they generate a compounding effect where network size, brand trust, and service adoption reinforce one another.

Real-Time Payments and Cross-Border Solutions

A major contributor to Q2 revenues is the platform’s real-time payments infrastructure. Black Banx enables instant cross-border transfers across its 28 supported fiat currencies and multiple cryptocurrencies, helping both individuals and businesses bypass the traditional bottlenecks of international banking.

For freelancers, SMEs, and multinational clients, this means faster liquidity, reduced foreign exchange costs, and simplified global operations. The demand for real-time financial services is growing rapidly—Juniper Research projects global real-time payments turnover to hit USD 58 trillion by 2028—and Black Banx is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

Crypto Integration as a Revenue Stream

Another key revenue driver is crypto integration. While many traditional institutions remain hesitant, Black Banx embraced digital assets early and has built infrastructure to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Lightning Network. In Q2 2025, 20% of all transactions on the platform were crypto-based, reflecting strong customer appetite for hybrid banking services that bridge fiat and digital assets.

Revenue comes not only from transaction fees but also from value-added services like crypto-to-fiat conversion, staking yields (4–12% APY), and blockchain-enabled payments. For customers in markets with unstable currencies, these services act as a financial lifeline, further expanding the platform’s relevance.

AI-Powered Efficiency and Risk Management

Record revenues would be less impressive if costs ballooned at the same rate. But Black Banx has proven adept at balancing growth with efficiency. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 63% in Q2, down from 69% a year earlier, thanks to heavy reliance on AI-powered automation.

AI now drives fraud detection, compliance, and customer onboarding—areas where traditional banks often struggle with cost inefficiencies. By automating these processes, Black Banx can process millions of transactions securely while maintaining profitability at scale. This level of efficiency is rare in fintech, where high growth often comes at the expense of margins.

Regional Expansion and Untapped Markets

Geography also plays a role in fueling revenues. Much of the Q2 growth came from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions where demand for mobile-first banking continues to soar. In 2024 alone, Black Banx reported a 32% increase in SME clients from the Middle East and Africa, signaling the strength of its positioning in underserved markets.

By extending services to populations previously excluded from formal banking—migrant workers, rural communities, and small businesses—Black Banx taps into vast pools of latent demand. The strategy proves that financial inclusion and profitability are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Another factor behind Q2’s record revenues is Black Banx’s diversified business model. Income is not tied to a single service but spread across multiple streams, including:

Transaction fees from cross-border transfers and payments.
Crypto trading and exchange services.
Premium account features for high-net-worth clients.
Corporate services for SMEs and international businesses.

This diversification insulates the company against volatility in any single segment, creating stable revenue growth even in shifting market conditions.

Michael Gastauer’s Strategic Blueprint

Behind these results is Michael Gastauer’s long-term strategy: scale aggressively but with efficiency, innovation, and inclusion at the core. His vision has always been to create a borderless financial ecosystem, and Q2 2025’s performance is evidence that this vision is not only achievable but sustainable.

By balancing mass-market accessibility with premium features, and by blending fiat with digital assets, Gastauer has positioned Black Banx as a category-defining player in global finance.

The Road Ahead: Toward 100 Million Clients

Looking forward, the company’s goal of reaching 100 million customers by the end of 2025 will likely be the next catalyst for revenue growth. More customers mean more transactions, more data insights, and more opportunities to refine and expand its service offering.

If current momentum holds, the USD 4.3 billion quarterly revenue milestone could be just the beginning of an even larger growth story. The challenge will be ensuring systems scale securely while maintaining trust in an environment where privacy and compliance are paramount.

A Record That Signals More to Come

Black Banx’s Q2 2025 performance—USD 4.3 billion in revenue, USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 84 million clients worldwide, and a lean 63% cost-to-income ratio—is more than a financial milestone. It is a signal of how the future of banking is being rewritten by platforms that are borderless, crypto-inclusive, and data-driven.

What fueled this record-breaking quarter is not one innovation but a combination of strategies—scalable onboarding, real-time payments, crypto integration, AI efficiency, and expansion into underserved regions. Together, they form a model that doesn’t just challenge traditional banking but actively builds the foundation for global dominance.

For Black Banx, the road ahead is clear: the $4.3 billion quarter is not an endpoint but a launchpad for even greater scale and profitability.