Business Mortgages Broker is a broker, not a lender, founded by Matt Lenzie, who has 25 years in financial services, raising debt and equity. We arrange owner-occupier mortgages for trading companies in all 32 London boroughs and the City of London that want to buy, or refinance, the premises they trade from, putting each case to the lenders whose criteria fit.
A business mortgage is a long-term loan secured on the premises a trading company occupies. In London the questions are rarely about whether a business is viable and more often about the building: high prices relative to profits, leasehold titles, upper floors used as flats, and older stock that needs careful valuation. This page covers those points. It is finance for a trading business's premises, not a residential mortgage. For the tax, law and security that apply across the country, see our page on business mortgages in England.
What drives demand for business premises in the capital of the United Kingdom?
London's gross regional product in 2023 was £617.92 billion, around a quarter of UK GDP. Finance is its largest industry, based in the City of London and Canary Wharf, and over half of the FTSE 100 and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies have headquarters in central London. Greater London had 27 million m2 of office space in 2001, with the City containing 8 million m2. Tourism employed 700,000 full-time workers in 2016 and contributes £36 billion a year.
The large corporates rent. The owner-occupiers we arrange finance for are the businesses around them: accountancy, legal and consultancy firms buying a floor or a small building, dental, medical and veterinary practices, restaurants and hospitality businesses that serve the visitor trade, and trade, logistics and light industrial firms on the estates towards the edge of the city.
Leasehold, mixed-use and high values: what is different about London, UK premises?
Leasehold titles
Many London commercial units, especially floors within larger buildings, are sold as long leaseholds rather than freeholds. Lenders lend on long leaseholds, but they look closely at the unexpired term, the ground rent and service charge, and any restrictions on use. A short remaining lease can reduce the loan available, so your solicitor should report on the lease early.
Shops and offices with flats above
A parade shop or a restaurant with a flat above is semi-commercial property. Lenders treat it differently from a pure commercial building; see our page on semi-commercial premises, where indicative rates run 6.5 to 8.5% a year at up to 75% loan to value.
The tax on higher values
Purchases in London are taxed under Stamp Duty Land Tax at the non-residential rates: 0% up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000 (HMRC, gov.uk; rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy). Because most London premises cost well above £250,000, much of the price falls in the 5% slice, and lenders do not lend the tax. Our commercial stamp duty guide shows the arithmetic.
Which London, England businesses buy their own premises?
The strongest owner-occupier cases in the capital tend to come from businesses with steady, provable income and a building central to how they trade:
- professional practices, such as solicitors, accountants and architects, buying their offices
- dental, medical, optical and veterinary practices, covered on our page on franchise and professional practice mortgages
- restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels, priced as trading businesses at typically 7.0 to 9.0% a year, indicative
- technology and creative firms buying studio or office space
- trade counters, workshops and light industrial businesses inside the M25
Where rent is a large and rising cost, buying can fix the occupation cost and build an asset in the company. Lenders still lend on affordability: profit has to cover the repayments with headroom.
How much can a company in the UK capital city borrow?
For a London owner-occupier the usual terms are, all indicative and 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%.
On London prices a 25 to 30% deposit plus SDLT is a large sum. Some directors instead use a SIPP or SSAS to buy the building and lease it to the company: see buying premises through a pension. That route needs a regulated pension adviser or scheme administrator; we introduce, we do not advise.
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.
Arranging the loan across the London boroughs and the City of London
We start with the accounts, the property and the lease or title, then go to the market and prepare the case for the lenders whose criteria fit. In London the valuation often decides the deal, so we brief the valuer with the trading history and the reasons the building suits the business, and we flag lease terms early. If your business is looking at premises just outside the M25, our page on business mortgages in South East England covers the surrounding counties. We are not tax or legal advisers, so your solicitor confirms the SDLT and the title.
London's business districts and the premises that trade in them
City of London
The ancient core and main financial district, home to the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange and Lloyd's of London. Most space is rented by large firms, but smaller professional practices, specialist financial businesses and hospitality operators do buy long leasehold floors and small freeholds here, usually at high values that make the deposit the main hurdle.
City of Westminster
The seat of national government and parliament, and one of London's five major business districts. Westminster's owner-occupiers include professional firms, medical and dental practices, galleries, restaurants and hotels, often in period buildings with listed status and mixed-use upper floors that need careful legal and valuation work.
Canary Wharf
The financial and commercial hub in the Docklands and, with the City, one of London's two major financial districts. The towers are corporate and rented, so owner-occupier demand sits in the surrounding Docklands: offices, clinics, retail and service businesses that support the people working there, and light industrial units further east.
Camden and Islington
Named as one of London's five major business districts. Creative, media and technology firms, architects and consultancies buy offices and studios here, while busy high streets support restaurants, pubs and shops with flats above, which lenders treat as semi-commercial premises rather than pure commercial buildings.
Lambeth and Southwark
Another of London's five major business districts, on the south bank of the Thames. The mix runs from offices near the river and London Bridge to railway-arch workshops, food and drink businesses, hospitality and practices on the high streets, so building types, and the questions lenders ask about them, vary widely.
East London Tech City
The technology cluster known as Silicon Roundabout. Software, digital and creative businesses dominate, and while many rent flexible space, established firms with a profit record buy small office buildings and converted warehouses. Lenders look for at least two years of accounts, which can rule out younger fast-growing companies.
Lower Lea Valley
A large redeveloped brownfield area that became the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics. Beyond the park, the valley keeps industrial estates, yards and workshops used by manufacturing, construction, logistics and food businesses, many of them family companies looking to buy the units they occupy.
Area facts: Wikipedia (London). Tax figures: HMRC, Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority, as at October 2026.
