Commercial mortgages, explained properly.
What a commercial mortgage is, what terms it runs on, what the lender will want to know, and who normally borrows. Plain English, real numbers, and, when you're ready, an adviser who can arrange it.
- Free to use, no obligation
- Whole-of-market advisers
- Owner-occupier and investment
From "we need premises" to keys in hand.
Most people start by ringing their bank. The right order is understand the market, know your numbers, prepare the file, then let an adviser take it to every lender at once.
Understand what it is
Owner-occupier or investment, term loan or interest-only, high street or specialist. The whole landscape in ten minutes.
Read more →Know what it costs
Rates, fees, deposit, and what the monthly payment does to the business's cash. Terms and rates, with worked examples.
Read more →Know what they'll ask
Accounts, statements, leases, guarantees. Turn up with the file ready and the lender says yes faster.
Read more →Talk to an adviser
One conversation, whole of market. Which lenders would do it, at what rate, and how long it would take.
Read more →Who normally borrows, and what for.
Business owners buying their premises
Shops, offices, workshops, surgeries, pubs, cafés, care homes. Stop paying a landlord's mortgage and pay your own.
Owner-occupier →Investors buying to let to a business
A unit with a tenant on a lease, or a mixed-use building. Yields of 6% to 10%, longer leases, tenant pays the repairs.
Commercial investment →Landlords with a flat above a shop
Semi-commercial property: cheaper stamp duty, no BTL stress tests, and a market of its own.
Semi-commercial →Owners refinancing or raising capital
A better rate, the end of a fixed term, or money out of the building to fund the business or the next purchase.
Refinance →Pension schemes buying premises
A SIPP or SSAS can buy the business's own premises and borrow up to half its value. Rent goes into the pension, tax-free.
Pension purchase →First-time commercial buyers
Moving from renting, from residential BTL, or starting a business with premises. What changes, and what lenders make of you.
First-timers →Lenders say yes to files, not stories.
Two years of accounts. Six months of bank statements. The lease, if there is one. A one-page summary of what the property is, what it costs, and how it will be paid for. That is most of the difference between a six-week approval and a four-month one.
- Last two years' filed accounts
- Year-to-date management accounts
- Six months' business bank statements
- Assets and liabilities statement for each director
- Lease and rent schedule (investment property)
- Business plan and forecasts (new venture or change of use)
- Property details: address, price, use class, EPC
See your own numbers in two minutes.
No sign-up. Just the sums, with the assumptions written down.
Monthly repayments
Repayment or interest-only, any rate and term, and the total cost over the life of the loan.
Try it →How much could I borrow?
From the business's profit (owner-occupier) or the rent (investment), the way a lender works it out.
Try it →Deposit and costs
Deposit at your loan-to-value, stamp duty on commercial property, and the fees on top.
Try it →The questions people ask first.
Rates explained
Base rate plus margin, fixed vs variable, and why two businesses get quoted three points apart.
Read →Owner-occupier vs investment
Two different products with different lenders, LTVs and tests. Which one you are, and why it matters.
Read →Semi-commercial property
The flat above the shop: cheaper stamp duty, no BTL stress test, and the lenders who like it.
Read →Fees and costs
Arrangement, valuation, legal, broker, exit. What is normal, what is negotiable, and what to budget.
Read →Personal guarantees
Nearly every limited company loan has one. What it means, how to limit it, and when to push back.
Read →Bridging first, mortgage after
Auctions, quick completions and properties that need work before a lender will touch them.
Read →Straight answers
What is a commercial mortgage?
A loan secured on a property that is used for business rather than as someone's home: a shop, office, warehouse, pub, surgery, workshop, or a mixed-use building like a flat above a shop. You use it either to buy premises for your own business (an owner-occupier mortgage) or to buy a commercial property to let to a business tenant (a commercial investment mortgage). The full explainer.
How much deposit do I need?
Usually 25% to 35% of the price. Lenders go to 70% to 75% loan-to-value for a strong owner-occupier, sometimes 80% for professions like dentists and vets; 65% to 70% for investment property. Specialist lenders may accept additional security (another property) instead of some of the cash. Work out yours.
What rate will I pay?
In 2026, roughly 6% to 9% for an owner-occupier with good accounts, and 7% to 10% for investment property, depending on the lender, the loan-to-value and the strength of the case. High street banks are cheapest but slowest and fussiest; challenger and specialist lenders cost more and say yes more often. Most loans are variable at a margin over Bank of England base rate; fixed rates for two to five years are available. Terms and rates in detail.
How long does it take?
Six to twelve weeks from a full application to the money, typically. Valuation and legal work take the time. Having two years of accounts, bank statements and (for investment) the lease ready on day one saves weeks. If you need to complete faster, a bridging loan followed by a commercial mortgage is a common route.
Is a commercial mortgage regulated?
Mostly not. A mortgage on a property used wholly for business is outside FCA regulation, which is why terms are negotiated rather than standardised. If you or your family will live in more than 40% of the property (a flat above your own shop, say), the loan becomes a regulated mortgage contract and must be arranged by an FCA-authorised firm; we introduce you to one in that case.
What does this website do?
It explains commercial mortgages in plain English, gives you three calculators to see your own numbers, and, if you want, introduces you to a commercial finance adviser who can place the loan. We are not a lender. The first conversation costs nothing and there is no obligation.
Ready to talk to someone who can actually arrange it?
Tell us about the property and the business, and a commercial finance adviser will come back with which lenders fit, what rate to expect and what they'll want to see. No fee for the conversation, no obligation.