Business Mortgages Broker is a commercial mortgage broker founded by Matt Lenzie, who has 25 years in financial services, raising debt and equity, and £400m+ arranged. We arrange business mortgages for trading companies anywhere in England that want to buy, or refinance, the premises they trade from. We are a broker, not a lender: we prepare the case and take it to the lenders whose criteria fit the business and the building.
England is home to 56,490,048 people at the 2021 census, about 84% of the UK population, concentrated around London, the South East and the conurbations of the Midlands, the North West, the North East and Yorkshire. One tax, one land registry and one form of lender security apply from Cornwall to Northumberland, so the rules below hold everywhere in the country; the regional pages then deal with the local economy and premises mix. This is finance for a trading business's premises, not a residential mortgage.
How does Stamp Duty Land Tax work on premises in England, UK?
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax on land transactions in England and Northern Ireland. It was introduced by the Finance Act 2003 and replaced stamp duty from 1 December 2003. SDLT is self-assessed: your solicitor makes a return to HMRC, and the HMRC certificate is needed before the change of ownership can be registered. That makes the tax part of the completion chain, not an afterthought.
Non-residential SDLT is charged in slices. Source: HMRC (gov.uk, SDLT rates for non-residential and mixed land and property). Rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy.
| Portion of the price | SDLT rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £150,000 | 0% |
| £150,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| Above £250,000 | 5% |
Illustrative example. On a £500,000 freehold unit with no VAT, SDLT is £14,500, and the return and payment are due within 14 days of completion. That is more than the same building would cost in Scotland or Wales, because SDLT charges 2% on the second slice where LBTT and LTT charge 1%. Lenders do not lend the tax. Our guide to stamp duty on commercial property covers leases, VAT and mixed-use buildings.
What security does a lender take in England and Wales?
England sits in the England and Wales legal jurisdiction, which runs on English law, a common law system. Following the Law of Property Act 1925, a lender takes security over commercial property by way of a mortgage by legal charge. The charge is registered at HM Land Registry, which covers England and Wales, against the title your company acquires.
For a buyer this means a familiar sequence: offer agreed, searches and enquiries, loan offer, exchange of contracts, then completion, with your solicitor registering the transfer and the lender's charge afterwards. Exchange is the point of no return, so the loan offer should be in hand before you exchange. Where a purchase must complete faster than a term lender can move, bridging finance for business premises at an indicative 0.70 to 0.95% a month can complete first and be refinanced later.
Which regions of England do we cover?
We arrange owner-occupier premises finance in all nine English regions. Each regional page covers the economy, the business districts and the kinds of premises companies buy there:
- London
- South East England
- East of England
- South West England
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- North West England
- North East England
The terms do not change with the postcode. A lender looks at the business's accounts, the strength of the building as security and the borrower's credit, wherever the property is.
What premises do English trading companies buy?
London is England's financial centre and home to the London Stock Exchange. Beyond finance, England is described as a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry and software. Exports are dominated by pharmaceuticals, automotives, crude oil and petroleum, aircraft engines and alcoholic beverages. Since the 1970s traditional heavy and manufacturing industries have declined, with an increasing emphasis on a service industry oriented economy.
That shift shows in what owner-occupiers buy: offices for professional and technology firms, light industrial and trade units rather than heavy plant, laboratories and engineering workshops in the supply chains of the larger manufacturers, and a large number of dental, veterinary and medical practices, franchise outlets, pubs, hotels and care homes. Trading businesses such as pubs, hotels and care homes are priced at typically 7.0 to 9.0% a year, indicative. A high-street shop with a flat above is semi-commercial, covered on our page on semi-commercial premises.
Terms for an owner-occupier commercial mortgage in England, United Kingdom
For a company buying the building it trades from, an owner-occupier mortgage usually works on these terms, all indicative, subject to status, accounts and valuation:
- Rates: 6.0 to 7.5% a year owner-occupier; 6.0 to 8.0% for a commercial remortgage.
- Loan to value: typically 70 to 75%, up to 80% for strong cases.
- Term: 5 to 25 years, some to 30.
- Fees: arrangement fees typically 1 to 2%.
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. We are not tax or legal advisers, so your solicitor confirms the SDLT and the title.
England's largest cities and the premises that trade in them
London
The capital and largest city, at the centre of a Greater London conurbation of 9,787,426 people. Finance, professional services and technology dominate the office market, while shops with flats above, restaurants, clinics and light industrial units fill the boroughs. Our London page covers the business districts and the leasehold and mixed-use questions that come up there.
Manchester
The centre of the Greater Manchester conurbation, population 2,553,379. A former cotton and manufacturing city, it now combines offices for professional, digital and media businesses with warehouses, trade counters and light industrial units across the conurbation, many of them bought by firms that have outgrown rented space.
Birmingham
The centre of the West Midlands conurbation, population 2,440,986. Its manufacturing and engineering heritage supports a deep market in workshops and industrial units, much of it linked to the automotive and aerospace supply chains, alongside city-centre offices, professional practices and retail.
Leeds
The centre of the West Yorkshire conurbation, population 1,777,934. Leeds is a major centre for financial, legal and professional services, so offices and practices are a large share of owner-occupier purchases, with distribution and manufacturing businesses on the estates around the motorway network.
Liverpool
A port city on the tidal River Mersey, with a conurbation population of 864,122. Port-related logistics, warehousing and trade premises sit alongside a city-centre economy of hospitality, retail, offices and professional firms, and the visitor trade supports hotels, bars and restaurants.
Newcastle upon Tyne
A port city on the tidal River Tyne, at the heart of the Tyneside conurbation of 774,891 people. Shipbuilding and heavy industry have given way to services, so offices, practices, retail and hospitality lead the city centre, with engineering and manufacturing businesses on the riverside and outlying estates.
Sheffield
Sheffield's conurbation has a population of 685,368. Known for steel, it still has a strong base of advanced manufacturing, engineering and metals businesses that own their works and workshops, alongside offices, retail, hospitality and professional practices in the city centre and the trade and distribution units along the M1 corridor.
Bristol
Bristol's conurbation has a population of 617,280. Aerospace, engineering and technology firms operate on the city's northern fringe, and the centre supports offices, creative and media businesses, hospitality and professional practices, all common owner-occupier purchases. Our South West England page covers the wider region around the city.
Area facts: Wikipedia (England, Stamp duty in the United Kingdom#Stamp duty land tax, HM Land Registry). Tax figures: HMRC, Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority, as at October 2026.
