Lincolnshire is the second largest county in England, stretching from the Humber estuary to the Wash, with an estimated population of 1,120,749 in 2024 according to Wikipedia. It is predominantly rural. Lincoln is the cathedral and county city, Grimsby the port town on the north-east coast, Boston the town in the south-east, Grantham the south-west and Scunthorpe the north-west. North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are unitary areas officially in the Yorkshire and the Humber region; the rest of the county is in the East Midlands.
We are a broker. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies anywhere in Lincolnshire that want to buy or refinance the building they trade from. We do not lend, and this is commercial finance for a company's own premises rather than a mortgage on a house.
Which premises do Lincolnshire, England companies finance?
Farming still shapes the county economy. Lincolnshire grows large amounts of wheat, barley, sugar beet and oilseed rape, and the rich soils of the south produce potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers, onions, small vegetables and cut flowers. That creates demand for packhouses, cold stores, grain stores and workshops, and for the engineering, haulage and agricultural supply firms that serve farms. Notable county businesses include Young's Seafood, Openfield and the Lincolnshire Co-operative.
On the south bank of the Humber, the ports at Immingham, New Holland and Grimsby support food processing, logistics and process industries. In the towns, the buyers we hear from are retailers, hospitality businesses, clinics, professional practices and trades. Lenders treat a straightforward unit or shop differently from a specialised building such as a cold store, so the property type affects how much a company can borrow. Our owner-occupier mortgages page explains the assessment.
Farms, hauliers and food processors from the Wolds to the Fens
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Covers 9 council areas: Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Lincolnshire share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 6,220 | 13.5% | 12.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 4,680 | 10.1% | 13.8% |
| Retail | 4,520 | 9.8% | 9.3% |
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 3,870 | 8.4% | 4.5% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 3,150 | 6.8% | 4.2% |
| Business support services | 3,035 | 6.6% | 8.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 2,920 | 6.3% | 6.2% |
| Health and social care | 2,575 | 5.6% | 5.7% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 2,390 | 5.2% | 4.3% |
- 2.1xroad haulage and land transport2,115 businesses
- 1.9xfarming3,755 businesses
- 1.6xfood manufacturing260 businesses
- 1.6xmotor vehicles and parts85 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
These figures span all nine council areas, from West Lindsey and South Holland up to the Humber bank. Farming, forestry and fishing accounts for 8.4% of the 46,215 business units, almost double the UK's 4.5%, and road haulage runs at 2.14 times the national share. Food manufacturing is 1.65 times the UK rate. Packhouses, cold stores and lorry yards make up much of the commercial property these firms buy, and a lender will want evidence the site suits other operators, not just the current owner.
Professional services are thinner on the ground, at 10.1% against 13.8% nationally.
How do roads and rail affect commercial property loans across Greater Lincolnshire?
Wikipedia describes the county's transport as poorly developed compared with much of the UK. The administrative county is one of the few without a motorway, and its roads are dominated by single carriageway A roads. The exceptions are in the north, where the M180 runs through North Lincolnshire before splitting towards the Humber Bridge and Grimsby, and the A46, now dual carriageway between Newark-on-Trent and Lincoln.
Location within the county therefore matters to a lender. A warehouse near the M180 or a unit on the A46 corridor will usually be easier to value and re-let than a building on a remote rural road. Rural premises can still be financed, especially where the business is profitable and the building suits other local occupiers, but the lender will lean more heavily on your accounts.
Lincolnshire's property stock: low-value offices, growing sheds
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Totals for Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse12,080properties on the rating listUp 12% since 2016Average rateable value £29,300factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices5,270properties on the rating listUp 12.6% since 2016Average rateable value £9,700offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail9,500properties on the rating listDown 0.9% since 2016Average rateable value £21,100shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial12,430properties on the rating listUp 6.5% since 2016Average rateable value £30,500pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Lincolnshire estates from Tattershall Road to Boston Road
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Lincolnshire, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Tattershall Road Industrial EstateWoodhall Spa LN10 6TW
- Boston Road Industrial EstateHorncastle LN9 6JR
- Abigate Business ParkHorncastle LN9 6SB
- Lancaster Business ParkSpilsby PE23 4BH
- Station Yard Industrial EstateHeckington, Sleaford NG34 9JJ
- Cowbridge Business ParkBoston PE22 7DJ
- Redstone Industrial EstateSibsey, Boston PE22 0RS
- North End Business ParkBoston PE20 3PW
- Popular Business ParkSleaford NG34 8GJ
- Reedspire Industrial EstateSleaford NG34 8GL
- Oakside Park Industrial EstateSleaford NG34 7EH
- Royal Oak Business ParkSleaford NG34 7EQ
Industrial entries across the county rose 12% to 12,080, while shops slipped slightly, down 0.9% to 9,500. Offices here are modest, with an average rateable value of just £9,700, compared with £29,300 for industrial units. That gap matters: an office purchase in the county is often a small loan, while a haulage yard or food unit usually needs a much larger one and a valuer who knows working sites.
What deposit and tax does buying business property in Lincolnshire involve?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending usually go to 70 to 75% of the lower of price and valuation, and up to 80% for strong cases, at indicative rates of 6.0 to 7.5% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation. For trading businesses such as hotels, pubs and care homes the indicative band is 7.0 to 9.0%. Terms run from 5 to 25 years.
Illustrative example. A vegetable packer in south Lincolnshire buys a £1,000,000 packhouse. A 75% loan is £750,000 and the deposit £250,000. Stamp Duty Land Tax, charged by HMRC at 0% to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000 (rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy), comes to £39,500. Our guide to commercial stamp duty shows the arithmetic.
Planning, security and regulation for premises finance in the County of Lincoln
Planning sits with the seven district councils in the non-metropolitan county, or with North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire councils in the unitary areas. The three councils collaborate through the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, but individual planning records stay with the local council, and a lender's solicitor will check that your building's use is lawful.
Lenders take a first legal charge registered at HM Land Registry, often with a debenture or director guarantees. 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. More counties are on our East Midlands page.
Owner-occupier mortgages in Lincolnshire's towns
Lincoln
The cathedral city is the county's largest settlement and the main centre for jobs in Central Lincolnshire. Public services, education, health, distribution and hospitality dominate, with the University of Lincoln driving small firms around the Brayford Pool. Former industrial warehouses have become multi-use units, a natural fit for companies wanting characterful owned space.
Grimsby
Once home to the world's largest fishing fleet, Grimsby now centres on ports and logistics, frozen food and fish processing, chemicals and digital media. Processors, cold-chain operators and dock-related engineers buy industrial premises here, while Victoria Street and Freshney Place anchor the retail centre.
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe grew around its steelworks, but food production, distribution and light engineering now sit alongside steel. The Foxhills Industrial Park north of the town hosts distribution businesses and a large kitchen factory, and the M180 and M181 give owner-occupiers quick road access.
Boston
Boston is a market town and inland port on The Haven, which runs to the Wash. Surrounded by the rich farmland of the south-east, it suits agricultural suppliers, food businesses and town-centre retailers, with St Botolph's Church, 'The Stump', overlooking the market area.
Grantham
Grantham, in the south-west, had one of the largest town centres in the county in a 2000 ranking and was once home to the engineers Richard Hornsby & Sons. Today its retail and service businesses, along with engineering and trade firms, are typical buyers of shops, offices and industrial units.
Spalding and the Fens
Spalding sits among the south Lincolnshire fields that grow vegetables and cut flowers. Packing, storage, haulage and horticultural businesses here buy large functional buildings, and lenders assess how readily another food or logistics firm could use them.
Immingham
Immingham, on the south bank of the Humber, is one of the county's shipping ports, alongside New Holland and Grimsby. Port-related logistics, storage and engineering firms buy yards and warehouses near the docks, where good road links to the M180 support valuations.
Skegness and the coast
The Lincolnshire coast runs from Cleethorpes past Mablethorpe to Skegness. Seaside towns here lean on tourism, so cafes, shops, guest accommodation and leisure businesses are the typical owner-occupiers, and trading-business lending terms often apply to hospitality buildings.
