Bolton Business Finance is an independent commercial mortgage broker arranging finance for businesses buying premises to trade from and for investors buying commercial property to let.
As a whole of market commercial mortgage broker we source commercial mortgages from high street banks, challenger banks, building societies and specialist UK lenders, and we can help with both commercial property purchases and refinancing existing commercial loans. Catering for all circumstances.
Written by Marcus Wright, owner and founder of Bolton Business Finance Ltd, in financial services since 2008 and a commercial finance broker since 2019. Last reviewed September 2026.
On this page
- What a commercial mortgage broker does
- Types of commercial mortgage
- Which lenders offer commercial mortgages
- Property types and lender appetite
- Deposit and stamp duty
- How long a commercial mortgage takes
- Commercial mortgages in Manchester and the North West
- Commercial mortgage broker FAQ
- Apply for a commercial mortgage
The short version
- A commercial mortgage is a long term loan secured against property used for business purposes, either premises your own business trades from or a commercial property let to a tenant.
- UK lenders typically advance up to 70% of value on commercial property and up to 75% on semi-commercial, with a small number of high street banks going higher for strong owner-occupier trading businesses.
- Terms run from 3 to 25 years, occasionally up to 30, on a capital and interest or interest only basis.
- More than 100 lenders are active in UK commercial mortgages and which of them will consider a case depends mainly on the property and how it is used.
- In our experience a commercial mortgage takes 3 to 6 months from first enquiry to completion.
- Bolton Business Finance is a whole of market commercial mortgage broker and a member of the NACFB. Property secured deals carry a £495 upfront fee and 1% on completion.
A commercial mortgage is a loan secured against property used for business purposes, either premises your own business trades from or a commercial property you let to a tenant. UK lenders typically advance up to 70% of value on commercial property and up to 75% on semi-commercial, over terms of 3 to 25 years.
More than 100 lenders are active in UK commercial mortgages, from clearing banks and challenger banks to building societies and non-bank specialists. The NACFB recorded 177 Patron commercial lenders in January 2026 across all commercial finance types, and specialist platforms list 150 or more for commercial mortgages alone. Which of them will look at your case depends far more on the property and how it is used than on your business on its own.
| Item | Typical position |
|---|---|
| Loan to value, commercial property | Up to 70%, occasionally 75% |
| Loan to value, semi-commercial | Up to 75% |
| Loan size | From £50,000 with no practical upper limit, the largest banks lend well over £100m |
| Term | Typically 3 to 25 years, up to 30 in rare cases |
| Lenders in the market | More than 100 |
| Time to completion | 3 to 6 months in our experience |
| Security taken | First charge over the property, usually with personal guarantees |
| How lenders assess it | Rental income and tenant strength if let, trading profit if you occupy it |
| Repayment basis | Capital and interest, or interest only with some lenders |
Figures are structural market ranges as at September 2026 and vary case by case. We do not quote rates on this page because they date within weeks. Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and arranges non-regulated, business-purpose commercial finance only.
What a commercial mortgage broker does
A commercial mortgage broker searches the lending market on your behalf, matches your case to the lenders whose criteria it fits, packages the application and works with you from start to completion to make sure the funding pays out on time. We make applying for a commercial mortgage straight forward, from start to finish. Our experienced brokers can help businesses get mortgages and property investors invest in commercial property.
We deal with commercial property purchases, mortgages for businesses buying their own premises, commercial loan refinance, releasing cash tied up in properties, and commercial property investment. Using our experience and contacts, we can source commercial loans for a wide range of circumstances, even if you have been declined by high street banks.
Our fees
There is no broker fee on most facilities we arrange, because the lender pays us a commission on completion. Property secured deals, including commercial mortgages, carry a £495 upfront fee and 1% of the loan on completion. We tell you this before you commit to anything.
Types of commercial mortgage
We can assist with any commercial finance enquiries from new purchases, remortgages and to release cash tied up in properties. By using an experienced broker, we can search a large number of banks and lenders to find you the right deal. Loans are available on an interest only or capital repayment basis, on terms from 1 to 30 years, and regardless of property type or circumstances, please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
Owner-occupier mortgage
A business looking to purchase a premises to trade from will need an owner-occupier commercial mortgage. As well as the high street banks, there are a number of specialist lenders that will provide commercial term loans.
Mortgages for businesses
We can help arrange mortgages for businesses who wish to purchase properties. Our lending panel has a wide range of business mortgages, for different sectors and circumstances.
Semi-commercial mortgages
A semi-commercial mortgage will be required when a property consists of part commercial use and part residential use. For example: a retail shop with separate rented flats above. This could be for investment purposes or to trade from the commercial part as an owner-occupier. Find out more about semi commercial mortgages.
Commercial buy-to-let and investment mortgages
If you are looking to purchase a commercial property as an investment, then you may be able to secure a commercial mortgage. Investment lending is available on an interest only or capital repayment basis, on loans from £50,000 upwards, across multiple properties and as portfolio mortgages. Loan to value on investment property is typically capped at 70% to 75%, and lending is for business purposes only.
Residential blocks, multi units and HMOs
Certain types of complex or high value residential investment properties and portfolios may require mortgages from commercial lenders: large HMOs and multi-unit freehold blocks with more than 7 bedrooms or units, buy to let loans over £1 million, complex proposals and ownership structures, and large mixed portfolios. See our page on multi-unit buy to let mortgages.
Which lenders offer commercial mortgages and how we choose
Commercial mortgages are available from four broad groups of lender, and each group lends differently. The high street banks offer the lowest pricing and the largest loans but the narrowest criteria. Challenger banks sit in the middle. Specialist non-bank lenders take the cases the banks decline, at a higher price. The table below shows the position across our panel as at September 2026.
| Lender type | Typical loan to value and size | What they lend on |
|---|---|---|
| High street and clearing banks | 70% to 75% as standard. Up to 80%, and in one or two cases 85%, for established owner-occupier trading businesses with strong accounts. Loans from £50,000 to £200m and above. | Owner-occupied premises for trading businesses, well let investment property with a strong tenant, and existing banking customers. Slow, and quick to decline anything unusual. |
| Challenger banks | 65% to 80% on commercial, up to 75% on semi-commercial. Loans from £40,000 to £25m. | Semi-commercial, portfolio landlords, HMOs and multi-unit blocks, and owner-occupiers the high street will not fit. Dedicated desks for healthcare and care homes. |
| Specialist property lenders | 65% to 75%, occasionally 80% on residential investment. Loans from £50,000 to £30m. | Complex titles and ownership structures, unusual property types, adverse credit, first time commercial landlords, and cases that need a decision in weeks rather than months. |
| Alternative and peer to peer funders | Up to 70% of market value. Loans from £250,000 to £10m. | Larger investment and trading cases, often where the borrower wants speed and is prepared to pay for it. |
Loan to value bands are taken from our 2026 direct lender panel and describe lender groups, not individual products. Every lender applies its own valuation basis and the figure that counts is the lower of purchase price and valuation.
How we choose the lender
Criteria varies between different lenders and some will specialise in certain sectors, geographic areas, loan sizes and other factors. We start with the property, because that decides which group of lenders is realistic. We then look at who occupies it and how the debt will be serviced, either from rent or from trading profit. Only then do we look at the borrower, including credit history, deposit source and experience. The aim is to place the case with a lender that will say yes first time. Once you have found a lender that meets your criteria you can usually get an indication of rates before proceeding to a full application, and a decline leaves a footprint that makes the second application harder, so getting the lender right at the outset matters more than anything else.
Types of property you can get a commercial mortgage on
Any commercial property can be either an investment or a trading case. It depends on who occupies it and who owns it, not on the type of building. The same pub is an investment when it is let to a tenant operator on a lease, and a trading case when the owner runs it themselves. A warehouse works the same way in reverse: an investment when it is let out, a trading case when your own business occupies it.
That distinction changes how a lender underwrites the deal. An investment is assessed on the rent and the strength of the tenant paying it. A trading case is assessed on the profits of the business occupying the property, which brings in operator experience, trading accounts and usually a going concern valuation rather than a bricks and mortar one. Where both figures exist, lenders apply the loan to value to whichever is lower.
The table below shows something different: how specialised the building itself is. That is what decides how many lenders will look at it at all and how far they will stretch on loan to value. A specialised building with little alternative use is harder security whether it is let or owner occupied.
| Property type | Choice of lenders and typical max LTV | What narrows the choice |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial units and warehousing | Wide, 70% to 75% | Age and energy rating, with modern stock clearly preferred |
| Offices, modern stock | Wide, 70% to 75% | Tenant covenant and unexpired lease term |
| Offices, older or secondary | Limited, 60% to 70% | EPC rating and the risk of being unable to re-let |
| Shops and retail units | Moderate, 65% to 70% | Pitch and tenant covenant, with high street weaker than retail parks |
| Semi-commercial and mixed use | Wide, up to 75% | The split between commercial and residential floor area |
| Blocks of flats, HMOs and multi-unit freehold | Wide, up to 75% | Licensing, Article 4 restrictions and the valuation basis used |
| Dental, GP and veterinary practices | Good, dedicated healthcare desks, up to 80%, higher where income is NHS backed | Professional registration and whether income is NHS or wholly private |
| Hotels and guest houses | Specialist, 60% to 70% | Occupancy, room rates and the track record of whoever operates it |
| Pubs and bars | Specialist, 55% to 65% | Freehold or leasehold, premises licence and trading history |
| Restaurants and takeaways | Limited, 50% to 65% | Short trading histories and a high perceived failure rate |
| Care and nursing homes | Specialist, 60% to 70% | CQC rating, usually Good or Outstanding, and a registered manager in post |
| Children’s day nurseries | Specialist, up to 75% | Ofsted rating and occupancy levels |
| Agricultural land and farms | Specialist rural desks, case by case | Land classification, subsidy position and seasonal income |
| Petrol stations and forecourts | Limited, up to 70% | Contamination and environmental survey, before anyone looks at the numbers |
| Holiday and caravan parks | Specialist leisure funders only, case by case | Site licence, planning occupancy conditions and seasonality |
| Funeral parlours | Very limited, case by case | A highly specialised building with almost no alternative use |
| Places of worship | Very limited, niche lenders only, up to 80% | Income from donations and effectively no resale market |
| Land without planning permission | Very limited, usually a bridging route, case by case | No income to service the debt and open planning risk |
The rows at the bottom of that table are where a whole of market broker earns its place. Mainstream banks decline most places of worship, funeral parlours, holiday parks and land without planning as a matter of policy, and forecourts are gated by contamination reports before anyone looks at the numbers. First time operators face the same problem on any trading case, because most lenders want to see you have run one before. There are lenders for all of these. They are simply not the ones a borrower finds by walking into a bank.
Dental, GP and veterinary premises sit in a lending niche of their own, with a small group of banks running dedicated healthcare desks and pricing off professional registration and NHS contract income rather than bricks and mortar alone. We cover how those lenders assess surgeries and clinics in more depth in our guide to healthcare premises mortgages.
Deposit and stamp duty
The short answer is approximately 25%. The majority of banks and lenders will require at least a minimum of a 30% (70% LTV) deposit for a commercial mortgage. However there are a smaller number of lenders that may go up to 75% LTV, so just a 25% deposit. The lower your deposit, the higher the interest rate is likely to be. It may be possible to raise a deposit from other alternative business funding methods, not secured against a property. Our commercial mortgage affordability calculator shows what a given deposit and rental or trading income will support.
Do not forget the stamp duty
Stamp duty cannot be borrowed against the property, because a lender advances against value and the tax adds none. It sits on top of your deposit and legal costs as cash you need on completion day, and it is a common reason a purchase that looked comfortable gets tight at the end. On a £450,000 commercial building the duty is £12,000.
Our commercial stamp duty calculator works it out band by band for a freehold purchase, and for a new lease it also calculates the duty on the net present value of the rent, which is a separate charge that most calculators leave out entirely. It handles VAT inclusive prices too, since stamp duty is charged on the VAT inclusive figure where the seller has opted to tax.
How long a commercial mortgage takes
In our experience a commercial mortgage takes 3 to 6 months from first enquiry to completion, and a complicated case takes longer. Published industry guidance usually quotes 6 to 12 weeks. That is achievable on a straightforward purchase with clean accounts, a standard property and a responsive solicitor, but it is not the normal outcome and we would rather tell you that at the start than at week ten.
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Agreement in principle | 2 to 5 working days |
| Full application packaged and submitted | 3 to 7 days |
| Valuation instructed and returned | 2 to 4 weeks, longer for trading businesses needing a going concern valuation |
| Underwriting and formal offer | 1 to 3 weeks, plus a few days for every round of queries |
| Legal work and completion | 2 to 8 weeks |
What slows a case down
Valuation and legal work are the two stages that overrun most often. A going concern valuation on a pub, hotel or care home needs a valuer who works in that sector and they are not always available at short notice. Legal work is frequently the single longest stage, particularly where there are complex titles, leases to assign, licences to transfer or two sets of solicitors involved. Cases also stall late when underwriting replaces an early assumption with a verified figure, most commonly a down valuation or weaker trading income than the accounts first suggested.
What speeds a case up
Up to date accounts, an evidenced deposit trail for anti money laundering checks, a sensible loan to value rather than the maximum available, a property that genuinely fits the lender we approach, and instructing solicitors alongside the valuation rather than waiting for the formal offer. Getting the lender right first time matters more than any of it, because a decline leaves a footprint and the second application starts from a worse position.
How that compares to other funding
Bridging finance completes in days to a fortnight, which is why it is often used to secure a property while a commercial mortgage is arranged behind it. Development finance generally takes longer than a commercial mortgage and draws down in stages. If your deadline is weeks rather than months, a commercial mortgage on its own is unlikely to meet it. See bridging loans and development finance.
Commercial mortgages in Manchester and the North West
We offer a face to face commercial mortgage broker service in Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Wigan, Blackburn, Preston and across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. See our commercial finance broker Manchester page for the areas we cover in person. Our service is available to clients based anywhere in the UK and including overseas investors looking to purchase commercial property in the UK.
Commercial mortgage broker FAQ
What is a commercial mortgage?
A commercial mortgage is a long term loan that is secured against any type of commercial property. They can be used to purchase the premises you wish to trade from or for investment purposes. Terms are typically 3 to 25 years. Up to 30 years is possible but rare. Repayments could be interest only or amortising (capital repayments). The main types are owner-occupier, commercial buy-to-let, semi commercial, property investment, complex residential such as large blocks, HMOs and multi units, and part commercial and part residential.
How do you get a commercial mortgage?
Commercial mortgages are available from a wide range of high street banks, building societies and specialist lenders. Criteria varies between different lenders and some will specialise in certain sectors, geographic areas, loan sizes and other factors. Once you have found a lender that meets your criteria you can usually get an indication of rates before proceeding to a full application. Upon receipt of a full lending offer, you will then need to appoint a solicitor to assist with completion of the mortgage.
Why use a commercial mortgage broker?
A commercial mortgage broker can help you compare loan offers from a wide range of banks and specialist lenders. Also using our expertise and contacts, we can source commercial loans for a wide range of circumstances, even if you have been declined by high street banks. We also work with you from start to completion to make sure the funding pays out on time and assist with any paperwork required.
How much deposit do you need for a commercial mortgage?
The short answer is approximately 25%. The majority of banks and lenders will require at least a minimum of a 30% (70% LTV) deposit for a commercial mortgage. However there are a smaller number of lenders that may go up to 75% LTV, so just a 25% deposit. The lower your deposit, the higher the interest rate is likely to be. It may be possible to raise a deposit from other alternative business funding methods, not secured against a property.
How does a commercial mortgage work?
In the same way that any mortgage works, you need a deposit and can repay the loan over many years. The maximum LTV is likely to be around 75% and the term is typically 3 to 25 years, occasionally up to 30. For an investment the loan could be interest only, for an owner occupier you will likely need to make full or partial capital repayments as well.
Which lenders offer commercial mortgages in the UK?
Commercial mortgages are offered by high street and clearing banks, challenger banks, specialist non-bank property lenders and a small number of alternative and peer to peer funders. High street banks lend at 70% to 75% loan to value as standard and go higher only for established owner-occupier businesses. Challenger banks and specialist lenders take semi-commercial, portfolio, HMO and more unusual cases at 65% to 80%. More than 100 lenders are active in the UK market and a whole of market broker can approach all of them.
Apply for a commercial mortgage quote
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As an independent commercial mortgage broker, we can search a large number of lenders in the market for you. We can help you compare lenders, interest rates and eligibility criteria. Fill in the form below and we will get in touch straight away, or call us.
About the author
Marcus Wright is the owner and founder of Bolton Business Finance Ltd. He has worked in financial services since 2008, beginning his career at Santander, and has been a commercial finance broker since March 2019.
He founded Bolton Business Finance in 2020 to give businesses access to the whole lending market rather than one bank’s own product range. The firm is a member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers and works with a panel of 135+ lenders.
Marcus arranges commercial mortgages, bridging, development finance, business loans, asset finance, invoice finance and merchant cash advances. Call 0161 546 9128.
Marcus is also the author of UK Commercial Finance (2026), a commercial finance book for UK business owners and property investors.
Bolton Business Finance Ltd is an independent commercial finance brokerage, not a lender. We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and can only complete non-regulated introductions. All lending is for business purposes only. Registered address: Westgate House, 1 Westgate Avenue, Bolton, Greater Manchester, BL1 4RF. Company number 12495909.