Harlow is a town and local government district in the west of Essex, on the south bank of the River Stort, which forms the county boundary with Hertfordshire. It was a small town until 1947, when it was designated a new town; housing estates, industrial areas and a new town centre were built mostly to the west and south of the original settlement, now known as Old Harlow. The M11 passes to the east, and the built-up area had 93,580 people at the 2021 census.
We are a broker and never lend. We arrange business mortgages for trading companies buying or refinancing the premises they occupy in Harlow. The finance is secured on your company's own building rather than a home, and we approach the lenders whose criteria match your accounts and the property.
Which businesses in Harlow, England buy with an owner-occupier mortgage?
Harlow is a centre for electronics, science and pharmaceutical companies. Raytheon and GlaxoSmithKline both have large premises here, and in July 2017 Public Health England bought the vacant GSK site, hoping to move 2,745 jobs there. On the eastern edge of town, the former Nortel site, where Charles K. Kao developed optical fibre data transmission, now hosts electronics, education and housing companies. Onlinegolf, the online golf retailer, is also based in Harlow.
The town was planned with manufacturing at The Pinnacles and Templefields. That base has declined, as it has elsewhere, but it left a stock of industrial land: the old co-operative biscuit factory on the Pinnacles closed in 2002 and its site now holds small industrial units. Those are the kind of buildings small engineering, electronics and trade firms buy. Our page on owner-occupier mortgages explains how lenders assess them.
Harlow's contractors, clinics and wholesalers
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Harlow share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 820 | 19.4% | 12.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 405 | 9.6% | 13.9% |
| Business support services | 390 | 9.2% | 8.1% |
| Retail | 350 | 8.3% | 9.4% |
| Health and social care | 340 | 8% | 5.6% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 295 | 7% | 4.2% |
| Wholesale | 235 | 5.6% | 3.8% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 215 | 5.1% | 4.3% |
| Information and communication | 215 | 5.1% | 6.1% |
- 1.9xhealthcare and medical practices230 businesses
- 1.9xroad haulage and land transport170 businesses
- 1.9xsecurity services40 businesses
- 1.9xmachinery repair and installation40 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Harlow has 4,230 business units, and nearly one in five is a building firm: construction makes up 19.4% of the total against 12.5% nationally. Human health activities run at 1.93 times the UK share, wholesale at 1.49 times and road haulage at 1.88 times. That mix reflects a new town with large employment estates and good access to the M11.
Wholesalers and hauliers want warehouse units with loading and yard space. Lenders tend to see those buildings as straightforward to value, since there is steady demand from other occupiers if the borrower ever moves on.
How do the M11 and Stansted Express affect premises finance in Harlow New Town?
Harlow is reached from junctions 7 and 7a of the M11, the London to Cambridge motorway. Junction 7 serves the southern side of town, including Church Langley and Potter Street, and junction 7a, close to Old Harlow, opened in 2022. Harlow Town and Harlow Mill stations both have Greater Anglia trains between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge, and Harlow Town is also a Stansted Express stop. Buses run to Epping on the Central line; in 2021 Harlow District Council proposed extending the line to Harlow, but no funding has been allocated.
For a buyer, the new junction 7a and the Stansted Express make units and offices on the north and east of town easier to reach, which a lender's valuer takes into account when judging how lettable a building is. Do not price in the Central line extension, as it is only a proposal.
High-value industrial stock and fewer offices in Harlow
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse850properties on the rating listUp 6.3% since 2016Average rateable value £69,000factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices460properties on the rating listDown 6.1% since 2016Average rateable value £22,900offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail510properties on the rating listDown 1.9% since 2016Average rateable value £47,300shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial590properties on the rating listUp 11.3% since 2016Average rateable value £40,700pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Harlow estates from Mead Park to Peartree and Kenrich
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Harlow, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Peartree Business CentreHarlow CM20 2BD
- Peartree Business Centre Shenval Industrial EstateHarlow CM20 2BD
- Mead Park Industrial EstateHarlow CM20 2SE
- 19 Mead Park Industrial EstateHarlow CM20 2SE
- Riverside Business ParkHarlow CM20 2HE
- Hastingwood Business ParkHarlow CM17 9JH
- Harlow Business CentreHarlow CM19 5AF
- Kenrich Business Park5 Elizabeth Way, Harlow CM19 5TL
- Omni Business ParkHarlow CM19 5FT
- Gemini House Ash Industrial EstateHarlow CM19 5TJ
- Greenway Business CentreGreenway, Harlow CM19 5QE
- Tilegate Farm Industrial EstateOngar CM5 0EA
Industrial units in Harlow carry an average rateable value of £69,000, well above the £22,900 for offices, which points to substantial warehouse and production buildings. Industrial entries rose 6.3% to 850. Offices fell 6.1% to 460, and shops slipped 1.9%. A smaller firm hoping to buy a modest unit may find limited supply, which tends to support values on resale.
What deposit and tax does a commercial property loan in the Harlow area need?
Lenders typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation to an owner-occupier, up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year over 5 to 25 years, with arrangement fees of 1 to 2%, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to the purchase: HMRC's non-residential rates are 0% to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% on anything above (gov.uk; rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy).
Illustrative example. An electronics assembly company buys a freehold unit on the Pinnacles for £500,000. A 75% loan is £375,000, leaving a deposit of £125,000. SDLT on £500,000 is £14,500, so the company needs around £139,500 in cash before legal and valuation fees. See our costs page for the other charges.
Planning and legal checks on business property finance in Harlow, UK
Harlow District Council is the planning authority. Where a laboratory or technology building has been adapted, the lender's solicitor will check that the current use is lawful, and the valuer will consider how readily another occupier could use any specialist fit-out. Security is a first legal charge registered at HM Land Registry.
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 towns in the county, see business mortgages across Essex.
Owner-occupier finance across Harlow's business areas
The Pinnacles
One of the two original employment areas planned for the new town, the Pinnacles was home to the co-operative biscuit factory for over 50 years. Its site is now small industrial units, which suit engineering, electronics and trade businesses buying their first freehold.
Templefields
The other major employment area from the new town plan, Templefields provided many of Harlow's early manufacturing jobs. Its industrial buildings now suit distributors, trade counters and workshops looking for units to buy.
Eastern Harlow and the former Nortel site
On the eastern edge of town, the former Nortel site, where optical fibre data transmission was developed, now hosts electronics and education companies. Technology firms looking for offices and lab-style space near the M11 consider this side of Harlow.
Old Harlow
The original town, close to the new M11 junction 7a, has a historic high street of older buildings. Independent retailers, cafes and professional practices buy shops and offices here, where the survey will look closely at age and condition.
Church Langley and Potter Street
These southern neighbourhoods are served by M11 junction 7. Local shops, nurseries, clinics and service businesses buy premises here, sometimes with flats above, which lenders treat as semi-commercial property.
