The London Borough of Barnet is a suburban borough in north London, formed in 1965 from parts of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. With 405,050 residents as of 2024, Wikipedia counts it as one of London's two most populated boroughs, alternating with Croydon, and it covers 86.74 square kilometres, the fourth largest area of the 32 boroughs. Its main settlements are Hendon, Finchley, Golders Green, Friern Barnet, Chipping Barnet, Whetstone and Edgware, with villages such as Totteridge and Arkley and Green Belt countryside in between.
We are a broker. We arrange business mortgages for trading companies that want to own or refinance the premises they work from anywhere in Barnet, and we never lend ourselves. The loan is secured on a Barnet company's own commercial property, which makes it business lending rather than a residential mortgage. We read the accounts, look at the building and the price, and only then approach the lenders whose criteria fit a Barnet case.
Which premises do companies in Barnet, north London, buy with an owner-occupier mortgage?
Barnet has always been a trading place. Chipping Barnet has been a market town since the thirteenth century, and in 1588 Elizabeth I granted a charter for a twice-yearly horse fair. In the 1970s the first American-style out-of-town shopping centre was built at Brent Cross. McDonald's keeps its UK headquarters at East Finchley, and Argonaut Games once had its head office in Edgware.
The businesses we expect to hear from are mostly smaller: high-street retailers and cafes, dental and medical practices, accountants and solicitors in converted houses, nurseries, builders and trade suppliers. Typical purchases are a shop with a flat above, a self-contained office building, or a small workshop on the busier roads in the south of the borough. For practices, our page on professional practice mortgages explains how lenders read fee income.
Consultants, lawyers and builders across Barnet, north London
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Barnet share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific and technical | 4,680 | 17.2% | 13.9% |
| Construction and building trades | 3,760 | 13.8% | 12.5% |
| Property | 2,820 | 10.4% | 4.4% |
| Retail | 2,430 | 8.9% | 9.4% |
| Business support services | 2,350 | 8.6% | 8.1% |
| Information and communication | 2,250 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
| Health and social care | 1,560 | 5.7% | 5.6% |
| Wholesale | 1,190 | 4.4% | 3.7% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 1,165 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
- 2.3xproperty and real estate2,820 businesses
- 1.9xbuilding construction2,015 businesses
- 1.6xclothing manufacturing45 businesses
- 1.6xlegal and accounting1,110 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Barnet has 27,260 business units, and 92% are micro firms. Professional, scientific and technical businesses make up 17.2% of the total, and legal and accounting practices run at 1.62 times the UK share. Building firms are common too, with construction of buildings at 1.85 times. Property companies account for 10.4% of firms, but most are investors rather than trading occupiers.
An accountancy or law practice buying its office is a classic owner-occupier case, and lenders look at fee income and client spread. Stable professional income can sit towards the lower end of the 6.0 to 7.5% band.
How do the A5, A1 and Northern line shape commercial property loans in the Borough of Barnet?
The borough's layout follows its transport. The eastern side grew around what is now the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, the western side around the Midland Railway and the Edgware branch. The A5, the old Roman Watling Street, forms much of the western border; the Great North Road runs from East Finchley up to Monken Hadley; and a section of the A1 bypasses it through Mill Hill. The Finchley Road, built as a turnpike in the 1830s, links Finchley to the West End.
Wikipedia describes development becoming steadily more intensive around Cricklewood, Colindale, Hendon and Finchley, while much of the north is Green Belt. For a lender, a building on a main road or near a station is usually easier to re-let or sell, and that helps when it decides how much to advance against a shop or office.
Barnet's shrinking office and industrial stock
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 warehouse670properties on the rating listDown 22.1% since 2016Average rateable value £41,300factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices1,960properties on the rating listDown 16.2% since 2016Average rateable value £20,400offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail3,460properties on the rating listDown 0.3% since 2016Average rateable value £34,700shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial2,000properties on the rating listUp 3.6% since 2016Average rateable value £51,900pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Barnet estates from Brunswick Park to New Southgate
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Barnet, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- North London Business ParkOakleigh Rd S, London N11 1GN
- Brunswick Industrial EstateLondon N11 1JL
- Brunswick Park Industrial EstateLondon N11 1JL
- New Southgate Industrial EstateArnos Grove, London N11 1QD
- Bounds Green Industrial EstateLondon N11 2UD
- Meadow Industrial EstateNew Barnet, Barnet EN5 1BH
- St Georges Industrial EstateLondon N22 5QL
- St George'S Industrial EstateUnit 6 White Hart Ln, London N22 5QL
- Olympia Industrial EstateLondon N22 6TZ
Barnet's rating list shrank by 6% to 8,080 entries. Industrial units fell 22.1% to 670, and offices fell 16.2% to 1,960. Shops held steady, at 3,460. With supply contracting, a business buying a unit or office faces competition, and the average industrial rateable value of £41,300 reflects that pressure. Retail is the most valuable category after specialist buildings, averaging £34,700.
What does buying business property in Barnet, London cost up front?
Indicative pricing for owner-occupiers is 6.0 to 7.5% a year, usually at 70 to 75% loan to value and up to 80% for strong cases, over 5 to 25 years, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Arrangement fees are typically 1 to 2%. Lenders fund against the lower of price and valuation, never the tax.
Barnet is in England, so SDLT is charged at non-residential rates of 0% up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000 (HMRC, rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy).
Illustrative example. A dental practice company buys a freehold surgery building for £700,000. A 75% loan is £525,000, so the deposit is £175,000. SDLT works out at £24,500, meaning the company needs around £199,500 in cash before fees. Our stamp duty guide shows each band.
Who handles planning for refinancing premises in the London Borough of Barnet?
The local authority is Barnet London Borough Council, which meets at Hendon Town Hall and has its main offices in Colindale. Its planning records matter whether you are buying or refinancing, because the lender's solicitor checks that the building's current use is lawful. Converted houses used as offices or clinics are common in suburban boroughs, and the consent for that use needs to be in order.
Security is a first legal charge registered at HM Land Registry, often alongside a debenture or directors' 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. See our London business mortgages page for neighbouring boroughs such as Brent.
Business districts across Barnet
Chipping Barnet (High Barnet)
A market town since the thirteenth century, Chipping Barnet sits in the north-east of the borough at the end of the Northern line's High Barnet branch. Its high street has independent shops, cafes, estate agents and professional offices, and owner-occupiers here often buy period buildings with commercial space below and accommodation above.
Finchley
Finchley, including East Finchley where McDonald's has its UK headquarters, lies on the Northern line and the Great North Road. Its town centres carry a broad mix of retail, restaurants and offices, and the Finchley Road links it to the West End. Professional firms and clinics buying small office buildings are a common type of deal here.
Hendon and Colindale
Hendon hosts the council's meetings at Hendon Town Hall, while its main offices are in Colindale, one of the areas where Wikipedia describes increasingly intensive development. New mixed-use schemes create ground-floor commercial units, and established service businesses buy workshops and offices along the A5 and nearby roads.
Golders Green
Golders Green, in the south of the borough, is known for its Jewish community and has a busy high street of food shops, restaurants and specialist retailers. Many buildings combine a shop with flats above, so lenders usually treat purchases here as semi-commercial and look at both elements when they value the property.
Cricklewood and Brent Cross
Brent Cross was the site of Britain's first American-style out-of-town shopping centre in the 1970s, and neighbouring Cricklewood is one of the more intensively developed parts of the borough. Trade counters, motor businesses and light industrial users find premises close to the A5 here.
Edgware and Mill Hill
Edgware, at the end of the Northern line's Edgware branch, and Mill Hill, crossed by the A1, sit in the north-west of the borough. Argonaut Games once had its head office in Edgware. Town-centre retail, offices above shops and small business units make up most of the premises that local firms look to own here.
