Northamptonshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, with Northampton at its centre, Corby and Kettering in the north-east and Wellingborough in the middle. Wikipedia records an estimated population of 813,682 in 2024. Its old identity was boots and shoes; today the county's small industrial centres specialise in engineering and food processing, and its position on the M1 and A14 has made it a natural home for distribution.
We are a broker. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies that want to buy or refinance the premises they trade from anywhere in Northamptonshire, and we never lend ourselves. The loan is secured on the Northamptonshire building your company trades from; it is business finance, not a home loan. We look at your accounts, the property and the deal, then approach the lenders whose criteria fit.
Which premises do Northamptonshire companies buy with an owner-occupier mortgage?
The county's employers give a fair picture of what gets bought. Weetabix makes breakfast cereal in Burton Latimer, Carlsberg brews in Northampton, and R Griggs, the maker of Dr. Martens, keeps its UK base in Wollaston near Wellingborough. Around those names sit hundreds of smaller firms: precision engineers, food producers, packaging and print businesses, trade counters and the specialist shoemakers that survived the decline of the footwear industry.
For those companies the usual purchase is a light industrial unit, a workshop with offices attached, a small warehouse or a town-centre shop. The south of the county adds something unusual. The region including Northamptonshire has been described as "Motorsport Valley", with the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team at Brackley, Aston Martin at Silverstone and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines at Brixworth. Their suppliers often need well-specified, clean workshops.
Our page on owner-occupier mortgages explains how lenders assess a company buying the building it occupies.
Warehouses, couriers and builders: the Northants business base
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Covers 2 council areas: North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Northamptonshire share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 5,440 | 14% | 12.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 4,715 | 12.1% | 13.9% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 3,185 | 8.2% | 4.2% |
| Business support services | 3,115 | 8% | 8.1% |
| Retail | 2,880 | 7.4% | 9.4% |
| Arts, sport and leisure | 2,330 | 6% | 3% |
| Health and social care | 1,930 | 5% | 5.7% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 1,920 | 4.9% | 4.3% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 1,920 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
- 3.5xsport and leisure1,960 businesses
- 2.1xmotor vehicles and parts95 businesses
- 2.1xroad haulage and land transport1,720 businesses
- 1.9xpostal and courier services885 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Across North and West Northamptonshire, transport, logistics and storage firms make up 8.2% of the 38,970 business units, nearly twice the UK share of 4.2%. Postal and courier operators run at 1.93 times the national rate and warehousing at 1.77 times, a picture of a county built around the M1 and A14. Construction is the largest single sector at 14% of firms.
For an owner-occupier, logistics buildings tend to be large, modern and easy to value against similar sheds, which makes them straightforward security for a lender if the trading accounts hold up.
How do the M1, A14 and rail freight shape commercial property loans in Northants, England?
The Watford Gap has funnelled traffic through the county since Watling Street, now the A5. Today the M1 runs north to south, the A14 links Rugby to Felixstowe, the A43 joins the M1 to the M40 past Brackley, and the A45 connects Northampton with Wellingborough and Peterborough. In the west, the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal sits on the West Coast Main Line near Rugby, and Wellingborough has a smaller railfreight depot on Finedon Road.
That network explains why so many warehouse and logistics buildings stand along the A14 and M1 corridors. For a trading company, being near a junction can make a building easier to let if the business ever moves on, which is one of the things a lender weighs when it values a unit. Former shoe factories converted to offices can be just as fundable, subject to condition and use.
Northamptonshire's industrial stock up by almost a third
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Totals for North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse9,340properties on the rating listUp 29.5% since 2016Average rateable value £60,700factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices4,420properties on the rating listUp 13% since 2016Average rateable value £13,700offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail4,710properties on the rating listUp 3.7% since 2016Average rateable value £24,600shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial5,790properties on the rating listUp 8.4% since 2016Average rateable value £35,200pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Northants estates from Moulton Park to Round Spinney
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Northamptonshire, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Sywell Aerodrome Business ParkNorthampton NN6 0BN
- Round Spinney Industrial EstateNorthampton
- White House Industrial EstateEarls Barton, Northampton NN6 0HJ
- Huxley Close Park Farm Industrial EstateWellingborough NN8 6AB
- Moulton Business ParkNorthampton NN3 6AQ
- Moulton Park Business CentreNorthampton NN3 6AQ
- Stafford Place Moulton Park Industrial EstateNorthampton NN3 6NN
- Moulton Park Industrial EstateNorthampton
- Northampton Science ParkMoulton Park, Northampton NN3 6LG
- Riverside Business ParkNorthampton NN3 9HU
- Neilson Road Finedon Road Industrial EstateWellingborough NN8 4PE
- Kingsfield Business ParkNorthampton NN5 7PP
Industrial entries on the rating list climbed from 7,210 to 9,340, up 29.5%, and they carry an average rateable value of £60,700, far higher than shops at £24,600. Total commercial stock is up 15.5%. That growth reflects the distribution parks along the motorway corridor. For a smaller manufacturer, the challenge is finding a unit of the right size, since much of the new stock is built for occupiers far larger than a typical owner-managed firm.
What does buying business property in Northamptonshire cost up front?
On a Northamptonshire unit, expect most owner-occupier lenders to advance 70 to 75% of the lower of price and valuation, stretching to 80% where the accounts are strong. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year for owner-occupiers, with terms of 5 to 25 years and arrangement fees usually 1 to 2%, all subject to status, accounts and valuation. The deposit, fees and tax come from the business.
Northamptonshire is in England, so Stamp Duty Land Tax applies. For non-residential property HMRC charges 0% up 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).
Illustrative example. An engineering company buys a freehold unit near the A14 for £600,000. A 75% loan is £450,000, leaving a £150,000 deposit. SDLT on £600,000 works out at £19,500, so the business needs roughly £169,500 in cash before legal and valuation fees. Our guide to stamp duty on commercial property sets the bands out in full.
Who handles planning and legal work for premises finance in the County of Northampton?
Since 2021 the county has had two unitary councils. West Northamptonshire Council covers Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire; North Northamptonshire Council covers Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and East Northamptonshire. Whichever council holds the planning record matters, because a lender's solicitor will check that the current use of the building is lawful before releasing funds.
The lender takes a first legal charge over the property, registered at HM Land Registry, and usually a debenture or personal guarantee from the directors. 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. For other counties in the region, see our East Midlands business mortgages page.
Owner-occupier finance in Northamptonshire's towns
Northampton
The county town on the River Nene is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of West Northamptonshire. Its private-sector base now leans to distribution and finance, alongside the Carlsberg brewery and the surviving specialist shoemakers. Buyers here range from firms taking former shoe factories converted to offices to businesses buying units on the retail and trade parks that ring the town.
Kettering
A market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, Kettering grew on boots and shoes before engineering and clothing arrived with the railway. Its economy is now built on service and distribution thanks to its central location and the A14. Kettering Business Park, on the north side of the town, adds offices and warehouse space that local companies can buy or lease.
Corby
Corby was once known as "Little Scotland" because of the Scottish workers drawn to its steelworks. Regeneration brought a railway station and the Corby Cube, and the town has expanded to absorb villages such as Great Oakley and Weldon. Its new-town road layout, with dual carriageways and a dual link to Kettering, suits manufacturers and distributors buying industrial units.
Wellingborough
Sitting in the centre of the county on the River Nene and the A45, Wellingborough has its own railfreight depot on Finedon Road. R Griggs, the Dr. Martens maker, is based nearby at Wollaston. Engineering firms, food businesses and trade suppliers here typically look for workshop and warehouse units close to the A45 and the rail line.
Daventry
Daventry lies in the west, close to Arbury Hill, the county's highest point, and to the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal on the West Coast Main Line. That terminal makes the area a logistics location, so the companies we hear from here are often in haulage, storage or supply-chain services and looking at larger sheds or yards.
Brackley and Silverstone
The south of the county sits on the A43 between the M1 and M40. Brackley is home to the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team and Silverstone hosts the Aston Martin team and the circuit itself. Specialist engineers, composite workshops and motorsport suppliers buy clean, well-fitted units here, and a lender will want to understand how adaptable the building is.
Burton Latimer
A small charter town between Kettering and Wellingborough, Burton Latimer is where Weetabix makes its breakfast cereals. The food-processing presence supports suppliers, packaging firms and hauliers, and the A14 runs close by. Owner-occupiers here tend to buy industrial and storage buildings rather than high-street shops.
