Telford is a polycentric new town in the Telford and Wrekin borough, designated under the New Towns Acts in 1963 and 1968 and named after the engineer Thomas Telford. At the 2021 census the town had 156,896 people, nearly twice the size of Shrewsbury, and the Ironbridge Gorge to its south is recognised as the birthplace of industry. Its constituent towns include Dawley, Coalbrookdale, Madeley, Newport, Oakengates and Wellington.
Telford was built for business, and many of its trading companies eventually want to own their units. We arrange commercial mortgages for them: finance secured on a business building, never a residential mortgage, with us acting as broker rather than lender. Telford is part of our Shropshire business mortgage coverage.
Owner-occupier mortgages on Halesfield, Stafford Park and Hortonwood
The town's industrial estates came in waves. Halesfield Industrial Estate was founded in 1967 on the south-eastern edge, Stafford Park followed in 1973 just east of the centre, and Hortonwood opened to the north in 1979. Half a million square metres of factory space were provided between 1968 and 1983. Foreign firms needing larger factories built at Stafford Park, and by 1983 around 40 mostly American companies provided over 2,000 jobs, focused on high technology rather than metal finishing.
Arrivals included Unimation, Nikon with a Halesfield warehouse in 1983, Hitachi Maxell at Apley Castle and Ricoh, which took a 22-acre site at Priorslee next to the M54. Many units on these estates date from that era, so a buyer today is often taking a building of forty or more years' age. Valuers will look at roof condition, eaves height and energy performance, and lenders lend against what the building is worth to the next occupier. Our owner-occupier mortgages page explains the tests.
Plastics, machinery and metal: the Telford and Wrekin trade mix
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Figures are for the Telford and Wrekin local authority area.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Telford share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 800 | 11.1% | 12.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 700 | 9.8% | 14% |
| Retail | 695 | 9.7% | 9.3% |
| Business support services | 660 | 9.2% | 8.1% |
| Personal and other services | 565 | 7.9% | 4.1% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 495 | 6.9% | 4.3% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 450 | 6.3% | 6.2% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 400 | 5.6% | 4.2% |
| Health and social care | 380 | 5.3% | 5.6% |
- 5.5xmembership organisations330 businesses
- 3.2xrubber and plastics40 businesses
- 2.7xmachinery manufacturing45 businesses
- 1.9xfabricated metal products95 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Telford and Wrekin has a markedly industrial business mix. Manufacturing and engineering make up 6.9% of its 7,200 businesses against 4.3% for the UK, with rubber and plastics makers at more than three times the national share and machinery manufacturers at 2.7 times. Micro firms account for 81%, and there are 240 medium-sized employers.
Those are established, capital-intensive operators. An owner-occupier loan on a factory unit is often assessed alongside the plant inside it, so expect questions about what is fixed to the building and what is financed separately. Strong manufacturing accounts tend to sit at the keener end of the 6.0 to 7.5% band.
Premises finance for Telford New Town's service and IT businesses
Telford also attracted large IT services employers. EDS supported an MOD contract from the Euston Park site and served clients worldwide from the Plaza building, while Capgemini and Fujitsu employ significant numbers locally, largely supporting HM Revenue and Customs. That growth helped the recovery after 1992, and by August 2007 unemployment had fallen to 3.3%. Median gross weekly earnings for full-time workers in Telford and Wrekin were £563 in 2019.
Consultancies, contractors and professional firms in that orbit often buy office suites or small business units near Telford Town Centre. An office purchase is assessed on the same principles as an industrial one, with lenders keen to see that the space suits more than one type of occupier.
Telford's factory and office stock since 2016
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Figures for the Telford and Wrekin council area. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse1,900properties on the rating listUp 13.8% since 2016Average rateable value £47,600factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices930properties on the rating listUp 24% since 2016Average rateable value £17,300offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail1,230properties on the rating listUp 3.4% since 2016Average rateable value £34,000shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial1,460properties on the rating listUp 16.8% since 2016Average rateable value £31,100pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Telford units owned by their occupiers, Queensway Link to Heath Hill
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Telford, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Park Industrial EstateTelford TF3 3AZ
- Stafford Park Industrial EstateTelford TF3 3BH
- Queensway Link Industrial EstateTelford TF3 3DN
- Telford & Wrekin Business CentreTelford TF3 3BA
- Redland Industrial EstateSt George's, Telford TF2 9JX
- Heath Hill Industrial EstateTelford TF4 2RH
- Kendall Business ParkTelford TF3 3AT
- Gower Street Industrial EstateTelford TF2 9HW
- Doseley Industrial EstateTelford TF4 3BZ
- The Bridges Business ParkHorsehay, Telford TF4 3EE
- Ketley Business ParkTelford TF1 5JD
- Snedshill Industrial EstateTelford TF2 9NH
Industrial property in Telford and Wrekin carries an average rateable value of £47,600, well above the borough's £35,200 average for all property, and the stock has grown 13.8% to 1,900 units since 2016. Offices have grown faster still, up 24% to 930. A company buying a larger production building here has plenty of nearby evidence for the valuer to draw on.
What does a commercial property loan in the Telford urban area cost to set up?
Telford is in England, so a purchase pays Stamp Duty Land Tax at HMRC's non-residential rates, which, as at October 2026, charge 0% to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000. Our stamp duty on commercial property guide shows the method. The lender registers a first legal charge at HM Land Registry, and planning sits with Telford and Wrekin Council.
Illustrative example. A Telford engineering company buys a freehold unit on one of the estates for £350,000. A 75% loan is £262,500, the deposit £87,500. SDLT comes to £2,000 plus £5,000, a total of £7,000. Add an arrangement fee of typically 1 to 2% plus legal and valuation costs. Indicative owner-occupier pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation.
Refinancing business property near the M54 in Telford, England
Telford sits at the terminus of the M54, a spur of the M6 linking the town with Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, and on the A5 between Shrewsbury and Cannock. Telford Central, Oakengates and Wellington stations are all on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line. That connectivity keeps demand for local units steady, which lenders like when they refinance.
Owners who bought years ago can use refinancing for business premises to release equity or replace an expiring deal. Commercial lending to a limited company is unregulated and falls outside the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter, and 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.
Telford estates and districts where firms buy
Halesfield
Founded in 1967 on the south-eastern edge of the town, Halesfield was Telford's first real answer to unemployment and remains a dense estate of manufacturing and warehouse units. Nikon opened a warehouse here in 1983. Buyers are typically small and medium manufacturers and trade businesses taking units of a well-understood type.
Stafford Park
Opened in 1973 just east of the town centre, Stafford Park is where the larger factories for overseas companies were built. It suits companies needing bigger floorplates close to the M54, and those larger, often single-occupier buildings require a lender comfortable with the loan size.
Hortonwood and Donnington
Hortonwood, opened in 1979 to the north, is home to Makita's power tool plant. Nearby Donnington has a significant MoD depot and the rail freight facility opened by Telford and Wrekin Council in 2009. Distribution and heavier industrial users look here, often for buildings with yard space.
Priorslee
Ricoh took a 22-acre site at Priorslee next to the M54, the first firm in Telford's new enterprise zone, and the charity PDSA has its head office there. Motorway frontage makes Priorslee attractive for offices and larger units, and those sites are generally straightforward for a lender to value.
Wellington and Oakengates
Two of the older towns absorbed into Telford, both with railway stations on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line. Their high streets provide shops, cafes and offices for independent businesses, including buildings with flats above that are financed as semi-commercial property.
Coalbrookdale and Madeley
Around the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, these communities mix visitor businesses with small workshops. Heritage settings bring planning and listed-building considerations, so we check consents before an application goes to lenders.
