Business mortgage guide for 2026: how a trading company buys or refinances its own premises

Most owners first think about a business mortgage when the landlord sends a rent review, or when the unit next door comes up for sale and the business has outgrown the one it is in. The question is rarely "can we afford the building?" It is "will a lender believe the trading figures enough to fund most of it?" This read follows that question from start to finish, from the shape of the product to the day the keys change hands, so you can judge whether owning your premises is realistic this year.

Talk to us about a business mortgage for your premises

Business Mortgages Broker is a trading name of Lenzie Consulting Ltd (company number 08174104). We arrange finance for companies buying or refinancing the buildings they trade from; we are a broker, not a lender, and our founder, Matt Lenzie, has 25 years in financial services, raising debt and equity, with around £400m arranged. Commercial lending to a limited company is unregulated and falls outside the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter. Where a deal would be regulated, for example lending to a sole trader or individual, or a property where the borrower or a close family member will live in part of it, we refer it to an appropriately authorised firm. Everything here concerns finance for a trading business's premises, not a residential mortgage.

What is a business mortgage, in plain terms?

A business mortgage is a long-term loan secured on the premises a trading company occupies, repaid from the profits that company earns. That last clause is what separates it from an investment loan. A landlord borrowing against a let building is judged on the tenant's rent; an owner-occupier is judged on its own trading.

The usual shape in 2026:

• Loan to value: typically 70 to 75%, up to 80% for strong cases.
• Term: 5 to 25 years, with some lenders going to 30.
• Repayment: capital and interest is the norm; interest-only periods are possible but shorter.
• Security: a first legal charge over the property, registered at HM Land Registry and, for a company borrower, at Companies House within 21 days of creation.

Because the debt is serviced from trading profit, the loan replaces rent as a cost line. Over time that monthly payment builds equity in an asset rather than funding someone else's.

Who qualifies for a commercial mortgage on its own premises?

Eligibility comes down to three practical tests rather than a fixed checklist. Lenders want a business that has traded long enough to prove itself, that will genuinely occupy the building, and whose owners are prepared to stand behind the loan.

• Trading history: two or more years of filed accounts opens most of the market. One year narrows the field to specialist lenders. Start-ups are rare outside franchise and professional practice routes.
• Occupation: the company should use at least half the building. Below that, lenders tend to treat it as an investment.
• Structure: limited companies and LLPs are the cleanest borrowers. Sole traders and partnerships can borrow too, but some of those agreements are regulated and need a different firm.
• Personal guarantees: directors are usually asked to guarantee some or all of the debt, so their own position matters.

The five things a lender reads before it says yes

Credit teams vary in appetite, but nearly every one works through the same five questions. Getting each answered before submission is most of what separates a quick offer from a long silence.

1. Profit and its quality. Filed accounts, the latest management figures and a sensible explanation of any dip. Lenders add back rent you will no longer pay, plus one-off costs you can evidence.
2. Debt service cover. Adjusted profit divided by annual loan payments, often tested at a stressed rate. Many lenders look for at least 1.25 to 1.5 times.
3. Deposit and its source. Retained profits, directors' funds or equity from another property. Lenders check where it came from as much as how much there is.
4. The building. Use class, condition, location and how easily it would resell if things went wrong. A RICS registered valuer reports on market value and, for some property types, on the trade.
5. The people. Director experience, credit history and personal assets and liabilities, read alongside the guarantee being offered.

Our guide to how lenders read your accounts covers the add-backs in more depth, and our explainer on owner-occupier commercial mortgages for a trading company works through a rent-versus-buy comparison.

Routes by property type: which premises finance fits?

The same trading company can face quite different pricing depending on what it is buying. Here are the main routes in October 2026, with indicative bands.

All figures are indicative, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Lenders price as a margin over Bank Rate, set by the Bank of England, or over a swap rate for fixed terms, so the bands move with the wider market.

A few notes on the less obvious rows:

• Trading businesses such as pubs and care homes are valued partly on the business inside the walls, so lenders read occupancy, fee income and inspection reports alongside the accounts.
• Semi-commercial buildings bring a residential element. If a director or family member will live in the flat, the deal can become regulated, and we refer it on. The semi-commercial mortgage guide for shops with flats explains the split.
• Refinancing premises you already own can release capital or move you off a variable rate; our explainer on commercial remortgage and refinancing for a business sets out when it pays.

What does buying your business property actually cost?

The loan is only part of the cash a company needs. Owners who plan just for the deposit usually find a gap a few weeks before completion.

• Deposit: 25 to 30% of the price at typical owner-occupier loan to value.
• Stamp duty: in England and Northern Ireland, SDLT on non-residential property is collected by HMRC at 0% up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000. Scotland and Wales run their own taxes with different bands. Rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy.
• Arrangement fee: typically 1 to 2% of the loan, often added to it.
• Valuation and legal fees: both sides' solicitors and the lender's valuer, paid whether or not the deal completes.
• VAT: if the seller has opted to tax, VAT is added to the price and counts towards the stamp duty calculation.

Our deposits and costs guide builds the full cost stack, and the business mortgage calculator shows the monthly payment at each end of the band.

From first call to completion: a realistic timeline

Timescales depend more on paperwork and third parties than on the lender's decision itself. A typical owner-occupier purchase runs in four stages.

1. Weeks 1 to 2: preparation. Accounts, management figures, a short business summary, asset and liability statements and the property details. We read the case and identify which part of the market fits it.
2. Weeks 2 to 4: terms. Indicative terms from the lenders whose criteria fit, then an agreement in principle subject to valuation.
3. Weeks 4 to 8: valuation and credit. The valuer inspects, the credit team approves and a formal facility letter is issued.
4. Weeks 8 to 12: legal work. Searches, title review and the lender's own solicitor. Completion follows once both sets of lawyers sign off.

Refinances skip the purchase negotiation but still need valuation and legal work. Bridging can be quicker, at a higher cost, and only makes sense with a clear exit.

Where in the UK, and what next?

Lenders active in owner-occupier lending fund premises across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, though local values, demand and the relevant property tax change the numbers. Our business mortgage locations cover counties, boroughs and towns in each nation.

If you are weighing a purchase or a refinance this year, the most useful first step is a short conversation about your last two sets of accounts and the building you have in mind. Read more on our business mortgages page, or get in touch and we will tell you plainly whether the numbers are likely to work.

Listen and watch: this episode, hosted by Georgina, is on the Business Mortgages Broker podcast and on YouTube.

Important information

Business Mortgages Broker is a trading name of Lenzie Consulting Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 08174104, registered office Lynch Farm, Kensworth, Dunstable, LU6 3QZ. We are a finance arranger and introducer, not a lender, and we do not provide financial, legal, tax or pension advice. Business mortgages, commercial mortgages and short-term lending arranged for limited companies and other commercial borrowers are unregulated commercial lending that falls outside the Financial Conduct Authority's regulated perimeter. Some agreements, for example a regulated mortgage contract or lending to a sole trader or individual, can be regulated; where a transaction would be a regulated agreement or would otherwise require FCA authorisation, we refer it to an appropriately authorised firm.

Written by Matt Lenzie, founder of Business Mortgages Broker. Figures are indicative and illustrative, not an offer of finance.