Eastbourne is a seaside resort and borough 19 miles east of Brighton and 54 miles south of London, immediately east of Beachy Head. It grew as a fashionable resort under William Cavendish, later Duke of Devonshire, whose architect Henry Currey laid out the Victorian street plan that still defines the town. The 2021 census counted 101,689 residents, up from 89,800 in 2001.
We are a broker and never lend. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies buying or refinancing their own premises in Eastbourne. This is commercial finance on a trading company's building, not a residential mortgage.
Which Eastbourne businesses buy premises with an owner-occupier mortgage?
Tourism is the largest earner, boosted by conferences and events; Wikipedia cites £365m of visitor revenue in 2010 supporting an estimated 7,160 jobs. The other main industries are trade and retail, healthcare, education, construction, manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical work. In 2016 the innovation charity NESTA named Eastbourne a creative cluster, with 969 creative firms employing 2,703 people. Gardners Books, the UK's largest book wholesaler, runs a 350,000 square foot warehouse here, but most employment comes from small private businesses.
Those small firms are the natural buyers of their own premises: shops, offices, surgeries, care businesses and light industrial units. Our page on owner-occupier mortgages explains how a lender assesses them.
Care, hotels and health: Eastbourne's business profile
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Eastbourne share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 485 | 12.8% | 12.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 485 | 12.8% | 13.9% |
| Retail | 425 | 11.2% | 9.3% |
| Health and social care | 355 | 9.4% | 5.7% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 345 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
| Business support services | 305 | 8% | 8.1% |
| Personal and other services | 200 | 5.3% | 4.1% |
| Information and communication | 185 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| Property | 160 | 4.2% | 4.4% |
- 1.9xresidential care80 businesses
- 1.9xhotels and accommodation60 businesses
- 1.7xmembership organisations55 businesses
- 1.7xhealthcare and medical practices180 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Eastbourne's 3,805 business units lean heavily towards care and hospitality. Health and social care makes up 9.4% of firms, 1.66 times the UK share, with residential care homes at 1.93 times. Accommodation, mainly hotels and guest houses, runs at 1.91 times the national rate. Both are trading businesses in a lender's eyes: a care home is valued on its registered beds and income, a hotel on occupancy and turnover, so expect underwriting to dwell on the accounts. Food and drink outlets account for 9.1% of firms.
The seafront, Sovereign Harbour and road links: business property finance in the Eastbourne area
The seafront is almost entirely Victorian hotels, and the Duke of Devonshire retains rights over the seafront buildings and does not allow them to become shops. That keeps the front in hotel and leisure use, so seafront purchases are mostly hotels, which lenders price as trading businesses at an indicative 7.0 to 9.0% a year.
At the eastern end, Sovereign Harbour, Britain's largest composite marina, has brought more than 3,000 homes and an innovation centre for small businesses. On transport, the A22 runs to London and the A27 links Brighton and Hastings, but Eastbourne is the largest town in Britain with no direct dual-carriageway link to the motorway network. A lender weighs that when valuing distribution premises, though it matters less for offices and shops.
Eastbourne's rating list since 2016
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 warehouse530properties on the rating listDown 3.6% since 2016Average rateable value £29,900factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices490properties on the rating listUp 16.7% since 2016Average rateable value £10,400offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail1,090properties on the rating listDown 1.8% since 2016Average rateable value £33,300shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial1,010properties on the rating listUp 20.2% since 2016Average rateable value £32,500pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Eastbourne estates where trades own units, Hammonds Drive to Birch
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Eastbourne, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Southbourne Business ParkEastbourne BN22 8UY
- Britland Industrial EstateEastbourne BN22 8PW
- Redward Business ParkEastbourne BN23 6PW
- Hammonds Drive Industrial EstateEastbourne BN23 6PW
- White Knight Business ParkEastbourne BN23 6PW
- Birch Industrial EstateEastbourne BN23 6PH
- Compton Industrial Estate10 Hawthorn Rd, Eastbourne BN23 6QA
- Hargreaves Business ParkEastbourne BN23 6QW
- Dittons Business ParkDittons Rd, Polegate BN26 6HY
- Potts Marsh Industrial Estateand, Westham, Pevensey BN24 5NH
- Chaucer Business ParkDittons Rd, Polegate BN26 6JF
- Mountney Bridge Business ParkWestham, Eastbourne BN24 5NJ
Eastbourne's total stock rose 7.2% to 3,120 rated premises. Other property, the category that includes hotels and care homes, grew 20.2% and averages £32,500 in rateable value. Offices grew 16.7% but average only £10,400, which points to small suites. Industrial units fell 3.6%, so trade buyers looking at Hammonds Drive or similar estates have less choice than a decade ago.
What does buying commercial property in Eastbourne, England cost?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation at indicative rates of 6.0 to 7.5% a year, with arrangement fees of 1 to 2%, 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 design studio buys a freehold office for £300,000. A 75% loan is £225,000 and the deposit £75,000. SDLT is £4,500, so the studio needs about £79,500 before legal and valuation fees. Our stamp duty guide explains the bands.
Security and regulation when refinancing premises in Eastbourne, Sussex
Eastbourne Borough Council holds the planning records, while nearby Polegate, Willingdon, Stone Cross and Pevensey fall within the Wealden district. 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. For Brighton, Hastings and the rest of the county, see our East Sussex premises finance page.
Where Eastbourne companies buy premises
The seafront
A front of Victorian hotels, the pier, a theatre, a contemporary art gallery and a Napoleonic fort. Because the Duke of Devonshire does not allow seafront buildings to become shops, most purchases here are hotels and leisure businesses, financed on their trading record as well as the bricks.
Sovereign Harbour
Britain's largest composite marina sits at the eastern end of the four-mile shingle beach. Alongside thousands of new homes it has an innovation centre for small businesses, and marine, leisure and service firms are the likeliest buyers of commercial space around the harbour.
Town centre
Henry Currey's Victorian street plan shapes the centre, with the railway station at its heart and direct trains to London Victoria, Gatwick and Brighton. Retailers, professional firms, surgeries and creative businesses buy shops and offices here, many in period buildings.
Hampden Park
A district within Eastbourne's limits, Hampden Park includes some of the areas Wikipedia lists among the most deprived in England. Local shops, trades and service businesses still buy premises here, and lenders assess the company's accounts and the building rather than the postcode.
Langney
Langney, including Langney Rise, Shinewater and Kingsmere, is built on Weald clay rather than the alluvial drift of the centre. Its parades and local units suit shops, takeaways, surgeries and small trade businesses buying their own base.
Polegate and Willingdon
Part of Eastbourne's greater area but within the Wealden district, close to the A27 and A22. Their commercial premises are mainly local shops, offices and small units, which suit owner-run businesses that want road access without a town-centre location.
