Specialist business mortgage broker for trading companies across Devon, UK

Devon's economic output was over £26 billion in 2019. A 2021 report quoted by Wikipedia says health, retail and tourism account for 43.1% of employment, and that agriculture, education, manufacturing, construction and real estate are over-represented compared with the national picture. That mix translates directly into the buildings companies buy: shops and cafés in market towns, hotels and guest houses on both coasts, farm supply depots, builders' yards and light industrial units on the edges of the cities.

Tourism has shaped the county since the railways brought seaside resorts in the 19th century, and visitor spend was almost £2.5 billion in 2019. Hospitality buyers are assessed as trading businesses, at indicative rates of 7.0 to 9.0% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Farming has diversified since the 2001 foot and mouth crisis into a strong local food sector with many artisan producers, who often want small production units with a shop attached.

Newer firms are arriving too. Wikipedia notes a rise in digital and financial services work, even on Dartmoor, and the Met Office moved to Exeter in 2003. Our page on owner-occupier mortgages explains how lenders assess these purchases.

The M5 ends just south of Exeter, so the motorway reaches only the eastern edge of the county. From there the A38 carries traffic to Plymouth and on into Cornwall, and the A30 heads west across the north of Dartmoor. North Devon depends on the A361 link road to the M5. Devon has more road mileage than any other English county, much of it rural.

Rail runs mostly along the south: Great Western Railway serves London Paddington, Plymouth and Penzance, CrossCountry links the county to the Midlands, the North and Scotland, and South Western Railway runs from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids. None of these lines is electrified.

For valuation, a building close to the M5 or a dual-carriageway junction near Exeter or Plymouth usually has a wider pool of future tenants than one in a remote village. Lenders still fund rural premises, but the business behind the loan carries more weight.

Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower, with up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year for owner-occupiers over 5 to 25 years, and arrangement fees are usually 1 to 2%, subject to status, accounts and valuation.

Devon is in England, so HMRC's Stamp Duty Land Tax applies at non-residential rates: 0% up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000 (rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy).

Illustrative example. A food producer buys a freehold production unit for £500,000. A 75% loan is £375,000, leaving a £125,000 deposit. SDLT is £14,500, so the business needs about £139,500 before legal and valuation fees. Our guide to deposits and costs for business premises builds the full cash picture.

Devon is split for local government into a non-metropolitan county with eight districts, plus the unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay. Planning sits with the district council or the unitary authority for the building's location, and the lender's solicitor will check that the current use is lawful. Exeter is due to become a unitary authority from 2028 under restructuring plans.

The lender's security is a first legal charge registered at HM Land Registry, usually alongside a debenture or personal guarantees from the directors. 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. Other counties appear on our South West commercial mortgages page.