Plymouth is a port city and unitary authority on Devon's south coast, between the rivers Plym and Tamar. It is the most populous settlement in Devon, with a population of 271,361 in 2025, and the second largest city in the South West after Bristol. A Royal Navy dockyard was established on the Tamar in 1690, and the city still hosts HMNB Devonport, the largest operational naval base in Western Europe. Since the 1990s its economy has moved from shipbuilding and seafaring towards services, while keeping strong maritime links, including ferries to Brittany and Spain.
We are a broker, never a lender. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies buying or refinancing the premises they trade from in Plymouth. This is commercial finance on a trading company's own building, not a residential mortgage.
Which Plymouth businesses buy premises with an owner-occupier mortgage?
Defence still shapes the city. Wikipedia records over 12,000 people employed in the defence sector, and Devonport Dockyard, the UK's only naval base that refits nuclear submarines, is estimated to generate about 10% of Plymouth's income. Plymouth also has the largest cluster of marine and maritime businesses in the south west, with 270 firms. Their suppliers, from precision engineers to fabricators and electrical contractors, are among the most frequent buyers of industrial units.
Other substantial employers include the University of Plymouth, The Range at its Estover headquarters and the Plymouth Science Park, where 50 companies employ 500 people. The Plymouth Gin Distillery has produced gin since 1793. On the retail side, the post-war city centre ranks in the top five in the South West for floorspace, and the Pannier Market sits in a grade II listed building. Our page on business mortgages explains how a lender structures the loan.
Builders, cafes and care homes: what Plymouth trades in
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Plymouth share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 1,275 | 15.5% | 12.5% |
| Retail | 905 | 11% | 9.3% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 860 | 10.5% | 14% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 770 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
| Health and social care | 645 | 7.9% | 5.6% |
| Business support services | 610 | 7.4% | 8% |
| Property | 400 | 4.9% | 4.5% |
| Personal and other services | 360 | 4.4% | 4.1% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 350 | 4.3% | 4.2% |
- 2.1xresidential care190 businesses
- 1.8xpostal and courier services175 businesses
- 1.5xrestaurants, cafes and pubs770 businesses
- 1.4xspecialist building trades900 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Plymouth's 8,215 business units are heavy on building and hospitality. Construction makes up 15.5% of firms, specialist trades run at 1.42 times the UK share and restaurants, cafes and pubs make up 9.4%, 1.51 times the national figure. Residential care homes are 2.12 times the UK rate. Machinery repair also features at 1.31 times, reflecting marine and dockyard work. A care home or pub buying a freehold is underwritten on trading income, while a trade contractor buying a yard is a standard owner-occupier case.
How do the A38 Parkway and the main line affect commercial property loans in the City of Plymouth?
The A38 dual carriageway crosses the north of the city as The Parkway, separating the older districts from newer suburbs. Eastward it reaches the M5 near Exeter, about 40 miles away; westward it crosses into Cornwall. Plymouth station has Great Western Railway services to London Paddington, Bristol and Cardiff, and CrossCountry trains to the Midlands, the North East and Scotland.
Because Plymouth sits at the end of the motorway network, lenders pay attention to how close a unit is to the A38. Business parks just off The Parkway tend to have a wider pool of potential occupiers, which supports valuation, whereas waterfront sites can be more specialised.
Plymouth industrial units up 18.1%
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 warehouse2,150properties on the rating listUp 18.1% since 2016Average rateable value £30,500factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices1,510properties on the rating listUp 7.9% since 2016Average rateable value £16,100offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail1,960properties on the rating listDown 1% since 2016Average rateable value £32,200shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial2,270properties on the rating listUp 10.2% since 2016Average rateable value £38,600pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Plymouth estates, from Wolseley to Grace Mill
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Plymouth, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Walls End Industrial EstatePlymouth PL4 0RW
- City Business ParkSomerset Pl, Stoke, Plymouth PL3 4BB
- Wallend Industrial EstatePlymouth PL4 0RW
- RB MetalworksWallsend Industrial Estate, Cattedown, Plymouth PL4 0RW
- Wallsend Industrial EstatePlymouth PL4 0RW
- Grace Mill Business ParkPlymouth PL4 0SN
- Wolseley Business ParkFord, Plymouth PL2 3BY
- Wolseley Trust Business ParkFord, Plymouth PL2 3BY
- Scott Business ParkPlymouth PL2 2PQ
- Riverside Business ParkDevonport, Plymouth PL1 4SN
- Sugar Mill Retail ParkPlymouth PL9 7HT
- Lee Mill Industrial EstateHooe, Plymouth PL9 9RL
Industrial units in Plymouth rose 18.1% between 2016 and 2026 to 2,150, with an average rateable value of £30,500. Offices grew 7.9% and shops fell 1%. Other property, which covers care, leisure and hospitality buildings, rose 10.2% and averages £38,600. More industrial stock gives a valuer good evidence for a unit on Wolseley or Walls End estates.
What deposit does business property finance in Plymouth, England need?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower, at an indicative 6.0 to 7.5% a year over 5 to 25 years, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Arrangement fees are typically 1 to 2%.
SDLT applies at HMRC's 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 marine engineering supplier buys a freehold unit for £700,000. The 75% loan is £525,000 and the deposit £175,000; SDLT is £24,500, so the firm needs about £199,500 before fees. See our commercial stamp duty guide for the bands, and the Devon business mortgages page for the wider county.
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.
Owner-occupier premises across Plymouth
Devonport
Devonport Dockyard sits on the Hamoaze, the Tamar estuary. The naval base and its contractors support a dense network of engineering, fabrication and maritime services firms. Workshops and yards near the dockyard are specialised, so a lender will consider how easily another marine business could take the site.
City centre and Millbay
The rebuilt post-war centre holds the main shopping streets, Drake Circus and the Pannier Market. Millbay, beside the ferry port, has been regenerated with mixed residential, retail and office space. Retailers, restaurants and professional firms buy here, often in mixed-use buildings.
Estover and Derriford
North of The Parkway, Estover is where The Range keeps its headquarters, and Derriford is a suburban district in the newer part of the city. Offices, trade units and clinical premises suit owner-occupiers who want quick access to the A38.
Cattedown
Cattedown lies beside the Cattewater, the Plym's estuary east of the centre. The Theatre Royal's TR2 production centre was built on former wasteland there. Industrial and waterside buildings suit manufacturers and storage firms that need space close to the centre.
Plympton and Plymstock
Once independent towns east of the Plym, Plympton and Plymstock joined the unitary authority in 1967. Their local centres suit shops, surgeries, vets and service businesses, and smaller industrial sites house trades serving the eastern suburbs.
