Hinckley is the third-largest settlement in Leicestershire, a market town about halfway between Leicester and Coventry on the Warwickshire border, close to Nuneaton and Watling Street. It was once responsible for a large share of Britain's hosiery, after Joseph Iliffe brought the first framework knitting machine here in the 17th century. Today its central position and links to the motorway network have made it a common location for distribution warehouses, and it is home to Triumph Motorcycles, Ultima Sports and Hammonds Furniture, which employs over 850 people in two Hinckley factories.
Business Mortgages Broker arranges commercial mortgages for trading companies anywhere in the Hinckley area. We are a broker and never a lender. The finance is secured on premises your company occupies and is judged on its accounts; it is not a residential mortgage.
Owner-occupier mortgages for Hinckley, Leics distribution and manufacturing firms
The M69 links Hinckley to Coventry, Leicester and both the M1 and M6, and the A5 runs north-west to Tamworth and south-east to Milton Keynes. When the Northern Perimeter Road, Normandy Way, bypassed the A47 around the town in the early 1990s, new commercial developments followed along the route. Those links are why logistics, motor engineering and furniture making cluster here, with MIRA's automotive research centre on the town's outskirts.
Lenders like modern warehouses and industrial units with good road access because another occupier could take them on. A long-established firm such as a family-owned garage or furniture maker will be judged on its track record; a younger firm on the strength of recent accounts. Our owner-occupier mortgages page sets out how lenders assess each.
Engineering and building trades in Hinckley and Bosworth
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Figures are for the Hinckley and Bosworth local authority area.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Hinckley share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 740 | 14.4% | 12.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 615 | 12% | 14% |
| Retail | 440 | 8.6% | 9.3% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 395 | 7.7% | 4.3% |
| Business support services | 360 | 7% | 8% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 305 | 6% | 6.3% |
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 275 | 5.4% | 4.5% |
| Motor trade and vehicle repair | 240 | 4.7% | 3% |
| Health and social care | 230 | 4.5% | 5.6% |
- 2.4xfabricated metal products85 businesses
- 1.7xmachinery repair and installation45 businesses
- 1.6xmotor trade and vehicle repair240 businesses
- 1.5xfinancial and insurance support services80 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Across Hinckley and Bosworth, manufacturing and engineering makes up 7.7% of the 5,100 business units, close to twice the 4.3% national share. Metal fabricators are especially common, at 2.37 times the UK rate, and machinery repair firms at 1.71 times. Builders are prominent too, at 14.4% of firms. These are yard and workshop occupiers, and for a profitable engineering company buying its unit, owner-occupier pricing in the 6.0 to 7.5% band is the usual starting point.
Micro firms make up 86% of the local count, so many purchases here are of smaller units by owner-managed companies.
Converted hosiery buildings and creative premises in the Hinckley area
Hinckley has a well-established creative and technology community: designers, illustrators, artists and photographers working from converted factories such as the renovated Atkins Building, formerly Atkins Hosiery and home to the Hinckley Times, and Graphic House on Druid Street, now modern offices and studios. Several textile firms remain in the area, and the Hinckley & District Museum occupies former framework knitters' cottages.
Converted industrial buildings can be financed, but valuers look carefully at layout, services and whether the space can be split. Studios in multi-let buildings are often bought on long leases rather than freehold, which lenders accept if the lease is long enough. 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.
Hinckley's premises: large sheds and a growing office stock
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Figures for the Hinckley and Bosworth council area. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse1,290properties on the rating listUp 9.3% since 2016Average rateable value £55,600factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices510properties on the rating listUp 24.4% since 2016Average rateable value £11,700offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail750properties on the rating listUp 7.1% since 2016Average rateable value £18,400shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial850properties on the rating listUp 11.8% since 2016Average rateable value £25,500pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Hinckley's estates, from Sketchley Lane to Dodwells Bridge
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Hinckley, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- The Lawns Business CentreHinckley LE10 1DY
- Fields Industrial EstateHinckley LE10 1YE
- Sapcote Road Industrial EstateBurbage, Hinckley LE10 2AU
- Sapcote Industrial EstateBurbage, Hinckley LE10 2AU
- Sketchley Lane Industrial EstateBurbage, Hinckley LE10 3EN
- Nutts Lane Industrial EstateHinckley LE10 3EJ
- Lime Kilns Business ParkHinckley LE10 3EJ
- Dodwells Bridge Industrial Estate22-23 Brindley Rd, Dodwells Rd, Hinckley LE10 3BY
- Hinckley Business ParkHinckley LE10 3BY
- Phoenix Business ParkHinckley LE10 3BY
- Harrowbrook Industrial EstateHinckley LE10 3DE
- Southways Industrial EstateHinckley LE10 0NJ
The average industrial rateable value in the borough is £55,600, three times the £18,400 average for shops, which reflects the big logistics buildings along the A5 corridor. Industrial stock grew 9.3% to 1,290 entries. Offices grew faster, up 24.4%, although from a small base. A buyer of a smaller workshop should expect the valuer to look past the large sheds to units of a similar size.
Pricing premises finance in Hinckley, England
Indicative owner-occupier pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation, at 70 to 75% loan to value, over 5 to 25 years, with arrangement fees typically 1 to 2%. Security is a first legal charge at HM Land Registry, usually with directors' guarantees.
Illustrative example. A Hinckley logistics company buys a freehold warehouse for £750,000. At 75% the loan is £562,500, leaving a deposit of £187,500. Stamp Duty Land Tax at HMRC non-residential rates is £2,000 on the middle slice plus £25,000 on the £500,000 above £250,000: £27,000, rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy. See our commercial stamp duty guide, and for the rest of the county our Leicestershire commercial mortgages page.
Hinckley districts and nearby areas we cover
Druid Quarter
One of the town's named districts, home to Graphic House on Druid Street, a former factory converted to offices and studios. Creative and technology firms buying their own space look here for characterful buildings close to the town centre.
Normandy Way
The Northern Perimeter Road that took the A47 around the town in the early 1990s, with new commercial developments built along it. Trade counters, distributors and service businesses buy units here for easy access without town-centre congestion.
Burbage and Sketchley
Burbage, a large village to the south, forms one urban area with Hinckley, and Sketchley sits beside it across the railway line. Local shops, clinics and small business premises make these popular with service firms wanting to own a base near the M69.
Barwell
A neighbouring village where Noble Automotive builds sports cars and Arriva Midlands runs its bus depot. Engineering and motor trade firms find industrial premises here within a short drive of Hinckley.
Nutts Lane
Where Hinckley's power station stood next to the railway and the Ashby Canal until it closed in the early 1950s. Industrial land by the railway has long suited manufacturers and yard-based businesses buying their own premises.
