Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, close to the Dorset border, 6 miles west of Sherborne and 28 miles east of Taunton. At the 2021 census the parish had 31,633 residents and the built-up area, which spreads into Brympton, West Coker and Yeovil Without, had 50,170. The aircraft and defence industries that grew here in the 20th century made it a wartime bombing target, and they remain major employers today.
We are a broker, never a lender. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies that want to buy or refinance the premises they trade from in Yeovil. This is commercial lending secured on a working building, not a residential mortgage. We look at your accounts and the property, then take the case to the lenders whose criteria fit.
Which premises do Yeovil, Somerset companies buy?
Leonardo, formerly AgustaWestland and before that Westland Helicopters, builds helicopters in the town and remains the main employer. Honeywell Aerospace, formerly Normalair Garratt, makes aircraft oxygen systems here, and BAE Systems runs a site producing networked software for the armed forces. Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, one of Britain's two active Fleet Air Arm bases, is nearby. Screwfix began in Houndstone in 1979 as the Woodscrew Supply Company.
That makes Yeovil an engineering town first. The companies that buy their own buildings here are often subcontract machinists, composite and electronics specialists, tooling firms and logistics businesses in the aerospace supply chain, along with retailers, trades and service firms. Our owner-occupier mortgage page explains how lenders assess a company buying its premises.
What Yeovil and wider Somerset firms do for a living
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Figures are for the Somerset local authority area.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Yeovil share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 3,820 | 13.4% | 12.5% |
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 3,625 | 12.7% | 4.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 3,265 | 11.4% | 13.9% |
| Retail | 2,405 | 8.4% | 9.3% |
| Business support services | 1,915 | 6.7% | 8.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 1,565 | 5.5% | 6.3% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 1,475 | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Health and social care | 1,425 | 5% | 5.7% |
| Information and communication | 1,185 | 4.1% | 6.1% |
- 3.0xfarming3,535 businesses
- 2.0xveterinary practices130 businesses
- 2.0xdrinks manufacturing and brewing50 businesses
- 1.7xlibraries, museums and heritage90 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
The figures here cover the whole of Somerset, and the county's 28,585 businesses carry a strong rural accent. Farming, forestry and fishing make up 12.7% of firms against 4.5% nationally, and crop and livestock production runs at almost three times the UK share. Around Yeovil that shows up in agricultural engineers, feed merchants and machinery dealers who need a yard and covered storage rather than a high street frontage.
Manufacturing and engineering also sits above average, at 5.2% of local firms against 4.3%. For a workshop owner buying the unit they already rent, a valuer will look hard at access, eaves height and alternative use, so a clean, adaptable building helps.
How do roads, rail and the aerodrome affect a commercial property loan in Yeovil, England?
The town sits on the A30, once the main route from London to the South West until the A303 took over to its north, and on the A37. It has two stations on separate lines: Yeovil Pen Mill on the Bristol to Weymouth line, just under a mile east of the centre, and Yeovil Junction on the London Waterloo to Exeter line, south of the town. Yeovil Aerodrome lies 1 nautical mile west of the centre.
A lender's valuer focuses on how easily a building could be sold or relet. Wikipedia notes attempts to diversify the economy and the creation of industrial estates, but the defence and aircraft sector still dominates, so a valuer will consider demand from a range of occupiers, not just one industry. Standard industrial units are easier to fund than highly specialised facilities.
Somerset's workshop boom: what the rating list says about Yeovil
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Figures for the Somerset council area. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse8,130properties on the rating listUp 29.3% since 2016Average rateable value £22,000factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices2,990properties on the rating listUp 21.5% since 2016Average rateable value £12,700offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail4,380properties on the rating listUnchanged since 2016Average rateable value £26,100shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial7,430properties on the rating listUp 13.8% since 2016Average rateable value £22,900pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
From Pen Mill to Houndstone: where Yeovil companies own their units
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Yeovil, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Abbey Manor Business CentrePreston Rd, Yeovil BA20 2EN
- Pen Mill Trading EstateYeovil
- Lynx Trading EstateYeovil
- Higher Farm Industrial EstateYeovil BA20 2ET
- High Farm Industrial EstateYeovil BA20 2FH
- Mead Avenue Houndstone Business ParkYeovil BA22 8RT
- Yeovil Innovation CentreBarracks Cl, Copse Rd, Yeovil BA22 8RN
- Houdstone Business ParkYeovil BA22 8PT
- Houndstone Business ParkYeovil BA22 8XG
- Glenmore Business ParkYeovil BA22 8XG
- Lufton Trading EstateYeovil
- Barton View Business ParkSherborne DT9 4FW
Somerset's rating list has grown by 16.6% since 2016, and most of the momentum is in industrial space: 6,290 units then, 8,130 now, a rise of 29.3%. Retail is exactly where it was, at 4,380 shops. For a Yeovil firm buying a unit, a larger pool of industrial property gives the valuer more comparables to work from, which tends to make the figure on the report easier for a lender to accept.
What deposit and tax come with premises finance in Yeovil, UK?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending usually advance 70 to 75% of the lower of price and valuation, and up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year over 5 to 25 years with arrangement fees typically 1 to 2%, subject to status, accounts and valuation. If you already own your building, see refinancing business premises.
Illustrative example. An aerospace subcontractor buys a freehold engineering unit for £700,000. A 75% loan is £525,000, leaving a £175,000 deposit. Stamp Duty Land Tax at HMRC's non-residential rates is £24,500 (rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy), so the company needs about £199,500 before legal and valuation fees. Our commercial stamp duty guide shows the bands.
Planning sits with Somerset Council, and the lender registers a first legal charge 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. The rest of the county is on our Somerset business mortgages page.
Yeovil suburbs and sites for owner-occupiers
Town centre and the Quedam
The Quedam Shopping Centre has some 45 shops, mixing high-street chains with independents, and a multi-storey car park. The 14th-century Church of St John the Baptist stands nearby. Retailers, cafes and service firms buy shops and offices in the surrounding streets, often older buildings with upper floors.
Houndstone
Houndstone, one of the town's suburbs, is where Screwfix started life before its warehouse moved to Stoke-on-Trent after failing to win planning permission to expand. Trade, distribution and light industrial businesses look at units here, and planning capacity for growth is worth checking early.
Westland and the aerodrome
Yeovil Aerodrome, sometimes called Yeovil/Westland, sits a nautical mile west of the centre and is tied to the helicopter works. Suppliers and subcontractors to Leonardo and the wider aerospace sector seek industrial units and workshops within easy reach of this site.
Sherborne Road
Leather maker Pittards bought back its purpose-built 1964 tannery on Sherborne Road in 2015 before entering administration in 2023. Large former manufacturing buildings like this can come to market, and a lender will look closely at condition, any contamination and how readily they can be reused.
Penn Mill and Brympton
Penn Mill, around the station on the Bristol to Weymouth line east of the centre, and Brympton, now almost a suburb, mark the edges of the built-up area. Local shops, workshops and small offices suit trades and service businesses buying modest premises.
