Specialist commercial mortgage broker for trading companies across Greater Manchester, England

An owner-occupier mortgage is a long-term loan secured on the premises a trading company itself occupies, repaid from that company's profits rather than from rent paid by a tenant. Lenders therefore look first at the accounts: two or three years of trading, the margin left after the new loan payments, and the directors standing behind the business. The building is the security, so its condition, use and resale appeal matter too.

Indicative pricing for this kind of loan is 6.0 to 7.5% a year, typically at 70 to 75% loan to value and up to 80% for strong cases, over terms of 5 to 25 years, with arrangement fees usually 1 to 2%. All figures are indicative, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Our page on business mortgages explains how lenders assess a first purchase.

Few counties have as many converted industrial buildings. The world's first cotton mill was built in Royton, and an Association for Industrial Archaeology publication calls the area one of the classic areas of industrial and urban growth in Britain. Many of those mills are now split into workshops, studios, storage and offices, and buying a floor or a whole building is a common route into ownership for manufacturers and trade suppliers. Lenders will look closely at multi-let mills, listed fabric and older roofs, so a full description of the building early on saves time.

Elsewhere the stock is newer. The old docks at Salford Quays, once an industrial port, are now a commercial and residential district where the BBC is established at MediaCityUK. Manchester city centre, together with neighbouring parts of Salford and Trafford, forms the planning "Regional Centre", home to The Co-operative Group at One Angel Square. Creative, professional and digital firms buying an office suite there are judged on the same affordability tests as a mill-town engineer buying a unit, but the valuation evidence differs. Retail and leisure owners in the town centres sometimes buy a shop with a flat above, which a lender treats as semi-commercial premises.

Greater Manchester is in England, so a purchase pays 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, rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy). The lender takes a first legal charge over the freehold or long leasehold, registered at HM Land Registry. Planning decisions sit with whichever of the ten borough councils the building is in, so a change of use, for example turning part of a mill into a showroom, is a borough matter.

Illustrative example. A precision engineering company buys a floor of a converted mill for £600,000. A 75% loan is £450,000, leaving a £150,000 deposit. SDLT on £600,000 is £19,500, and legal and valuation fees come on top, all paid from the company's own funds. Our guide to stamp duty on commercial property sets out the bands in full.

Companies that bought years ago may want to move off a lender's standard variable rate, release equity to fund machinery or a second site, or replace a short-term loan used to buy quickly at auction. The same accounts-led assessment applies, at indicative rates of 6.0 to 8.0% a year for a commercial remortgage, subject to status, accounts and valuation.

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 the wider picture across the region, see our North West England page.