Brighton is a seaside resort in the city of Brighton and Hove, 47 miles south of London between the South Downs and the English Channel. It became a fashionable resort under the Prince Regent, who built the Royal Pavilion, and boomed as a day-trip destination after the railway arrived in 1841. Brighton joined Hove as a unitary authority in 1997 and the combined area gained city status in 2000; the district has about 284,170 residents.
We are a broker, not a lender. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies buying or refinancing the premises they trade from in Brighton. This is commercial finance on a company's own building, not a residential mortgage.
Which Brighton companies buy premises with an owner-occupier mortgage?
Wikipedia describes Brighton as a retail centre of regional importance, with creative, digital and new media businesses increasingly significant. The city has 9,600 registered companies, and tourism contributes £380m and supports 20,000 jobs directly or indirectly; 11.4 million tourists visited in 2024. American Express, the largest private employer, has its European headquarters at John Street, and the Brighton Centre has hosted conferences since 1977.
The owner-occupiers we hear from reflect that mix: digital agencies and studios buying offices, restaurateurs and hoteliers buying freeholds, retailers buying shops in the busy central streets, and trades buying units on the edge of the city. An owner-occupier mortgage covers most offices and shops. A building with flats above is semi-commercial, and hotels are priced as trading businesses.
Film, ad agencies and energy start-ups: what Brighton trades in
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Figures are for the Brighton and Hove local authority area.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Brighton share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific and technical | 2,865 | 17.7% | 13.8% |
| Information and communication | 1,860 | 11.5% | 6.1% |
| Retail | 1,680 | 10.4% | 9.4% |
| Construction and building trades | 1,565 | 9.7% | 12.6% |
| Business support services | 1,395 | 8.6% | 8.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 1,350 | 8.4% | 6.3% |
| Health and social care | 910 | 5.6% | 5.6% |
| Arts, sport and leisure | 790 | 4.9% | 3% |
| Property | 765 | 4.7% | 4.4% |
- 3.0xfilm, TV and music production545 businesses
- 2.9xcreative and performing arts510 businesses
- 2.5xenergy supply100 businesses
- 2.1xadvertising and market research270 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Brighton and Hove's 16,150 business units show a remarkable creative cluster. Film, video and music production runs at 2.96 times the UK share, creative and arts activities at 2.93 times and advertising at 2.07 times. Energy supply firms, 100 of them, are 2.54 times more common than nationally. Restaurants, cafes and pubs make up 8.4% of firms. A bar or cafe owner buying a freehold will find the trading figures under scrutiny, while an agency buying its studio is assessed as a standard owner-occupier on its accounts.
Industrial space and the A23: business property finance in the Brighton and Hove area
Brighton was never a major industrial centre, and its industrial land is limited. Hollingbury Industrial Estate, laid out in 1950 around Crowhurst Road, once employed about 6,000 people in factories, but since the mid-1980s it has shifted to small industrial units, starting with the Enterprise Estate in 1985, and then to retail warehouses. Wikipedia notes that this shift has limited Brighton's potential for industrial growth.
For trade businesses, that scarcity can make owning a unit attractive. The A23 links the city to the M23 at Pease Pottage near Gatwick, and the A27 Brighton Bypass, finished in 1992, runs east to west behind the city. Units with easy access to those routes appeal to the widest pool of occupiers, which a lender's valuer takes into account.
Brighton's premises: offices up, workshops scarcer
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Figures for the Brighton and Hove council area. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse1,300properties on the rating listDown 9.1% since 2016Average rateable value £25,700factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices2,700properties on the rating listUp 31.1% since 2016Average rateable value £23,800offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail3,200properties on the rating listDown 3% since 2016Average rateable value £28,600shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial4,300properties on the rating listUp 31.9% since 2016Average rateable value £30,800pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Brighton estates where firms own units, from Freshfield to Centenary
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Brighton, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Freshfield Industrial EstateBrighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 0DF
- Fresh Field Business ParkBrighton BN2 0DF
- Freshfields Business ParkBrighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 0DF
- Longley Industrial EstateBrighton BN1 4JE
- Centenary Industrial EstateBrighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 4AW
- Peacock Industrial EstateBrighton and Hove, Hove BN3 1SF
- Bell Tower Industrial EstateBrighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 5RU
- Preston Park Business CentreBrighton BN1 5NL
- The Hyde Business ParkBrighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 4JE
- Sussex House Industrial EstateBrighton and Hove, Hove BN3 7DX
- Fairway Business CentreBrighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 4JZ
- Westergate Business CentreBrighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 4QN
Office numbers in Brighton and Hove rose 31.1% between 2016 and 2026, while industrial units fell 9.1% to 1,300. For trades and makers that is the key point: workshop space is getting harder to find, so owning a unit removes the risk of losing it to redevelopment. Fewer industrial buildings also means fewer comparables, which a valuer may need to source from further along the coast.
What does buying commercial property in Brighton, England cost?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically fund 70 to 75% of the price or valuation at indicative rates of 6.0 to 7.5% a year, while hotels and other premises valued on their trade are priced at an indicative 7.0 to 9.0%, all subject to status, accounts and valuation. Stamp Duty Land Tax on non-residential property is 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 digital agency buys a freehold office for £850,000. A 75% loan is £637,500 and the deposit £212,500. SDLT is £32,000, so the agency needs about £244,500 before fees. Our guide to commercial stamp duty shows the slices.
Security and regulation when refinancing premises in Brighton, UK
Brighton and Hove City Council is the unitary planning authority, and the lender takes 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. Eastbourne, Hastings and the rest of the county are on our East Sussex business mortgages page.
Business districts in Brighton and Hove
Hollingbury
Hollingbury Industrial Estate is one of the largest industrial areas in the city, laid out around Crowhurst Road. Its small industrial units, including the Enterprise Estate, suit trades, makers and service businesses, while larger plots have become retail warehouses and an Asda superstore.
Old Town and Old Steine
The medieval Old Town grew up around Pool Valley and the Old Steine, once a marshy area where fishermen dried their nets. Today its narrow streets hold restaurants, bars, independent shops and offices, and older buildings here often combine a commercial ground floor with flats above.
Seafront and the piers
The Victorian seafront of the Grand Hotel, the Hilton Brighton Metropole and the Palace Pier is the centre of the tourist trade. Hotels, guest houses, cafes and attractions here are valued partly on their trade, so lenders treat many of them as trading businesses rather than standard commercial property.
Brighton Marina
The marina to the east of the centre holds an Asda hypermarket along with restaurants, leisure operators and marine businesses. Companies here may buy or lease units within a managed estate, so the lease terms and service charges matter to any lender.
Patcham
Patcham lies on the northern edge of the city, where the Wellesbourne once rose and where the first section of the A27 bypass met London Road. Its position near the A23 and A27 junction suits service and trade businesses needing quick road access out of the city.
Rottingdean and Saltdean
Villages to the east along the East Cliff, reached by the coastal A259. Their high streets hold shops, cafes, surgeries and small offices, the kind of premises local practice owners and retailers buy to secure their base.
