Burton upon Trent is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire, close to the Derbyshire border, with 76,270 people at the 2021 census. It sits on the River Trent 11 miles south west of Derby and is known above all for brewing, helped by local water rich in dissolved salts from the gypsum in the surrounding hills. It also lies within the northern boundary of the National Forest.
We arrange commercial mortgages for Burton trading companies that want to own the premises they work from. This is finance secured on a business building, not a residential mortgage, and we are a broker rather than a lender. Burton is part of our Staffordshire business mortgage coverage.
Brewery and process premises: owner-occupier mortgages in Burton, Staffordshire
The town is home to eight breweries. Coors produces Carling and Worthington Bitter, Marston's brews Pedigree and Hobgoblin and Bass under licence, and smaller brewers include Burton Bridge Brewery on Bridge Street, Tower Brewery off Wharf Road, Old Cottage Brewery on Hawkins Lane, Black Hole Brewery at the Imex Centre and Gates Brewery on Reservoir Road. A by-product of brewing, the Marmite factory, has been on Wellington Road since the 1960s, and Briggs of Burton, the process engineering firm founded in 1732, operates from Derby Street.
A microbrewery or food producer buying its own unit faces one specific issue: brewing kit and process fit-out is usually valued separately from the building, so the mortgage is sized on the bare unit. Equipment can be financed alongside. We set that expectation early.
East Staffordshire's hauliers, farms and engineers around Burton
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Figures are for the East Staffordshire local authority area.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Burton upon Trent share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific and technical | 710 | 12% | 13.8% |
| Construction and building trades | 700 | 11.9% | 12.5% |
| Retail | 515 | 8.7% | 9.4% |
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 455 | 7.7% | 4.5% |
| Business support services | 455 | 7.7% | 8.1% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 420 | 7.1% | 4.2% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 335 | 5.7% | 6.3% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 330 | 5.6% | 4.3% |
| Health and social care | 320 | 5.4% | 5.6% |
- 2.0xroad haulage and land transport255 businesses
- 1.8xfarming445 businesses
- 1.7xwarehousing and logistics80 businesses
- 1.6xmachinery repair and installation50 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Brewing gives Burton its reputation, but the East Staffordshire business count shows how much else the town does. Transport, logistics and storage makes up 7.1% of the district's 5,905 firms against 4.2% for the UK, and road haulage operators number 255, about twice the national rate. Farming accounts for 7.7% of businesses and wholesale for 4.4%.
Hauliers and distributors are asset-heavy businesses, and a lender will look at fleet finance alongside any premises loan to judge total borrowing. Machinery repair and installation firms, at 1.65 times the UK share, add a cluster of workshop occupiers who often prefer to own their building outright.
Pubs and hospitality: trading business finance in the Burtonian market
Burton is the corporate headquarters of Punch Taverns, and Burton Bridge Brewery runs six pubs in and around the town. CAMRA's National Breweriana Auction takes place each October in the Town Hall. Pub and hospitality operators buying a freehold are assessed as a trading business: the lender looks at the trading accounts as closely as the bricks, and indicative pricing is 7.0 to 9.0% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Our business mortgages page covers how trading premises are assessed.
Burton's rating list: few new units, high values
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Figures for the East Staffordshire council area. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse1,330properties on the rating listUp 1.5% since 2016Average rateable value £62,800factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices690properties on the rating listUp 3% since 2016Average rateable value £15,700offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail1,120properties on the rating listUp 0.9% since 2016Average rateable value £23,800shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial1,060properties on the rating listUp 10.4% since 2016Average rateable value £30,900pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Burton's business parks: Imex, Malpass and GooseMore
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Burton upon Trent, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- James West Properties Industrial EstateBurton-on-Trent DE14 3AB
- Malpass Business ParkMalpass, Moor St, Burton-on-Trent DE14 3SZ
- James W Business ParkBurton-on-Trent DE14 3AB
- GooseMore Business ParkBurton-on-Trent DE14 3NT
- Anglesey Business CentreAnglesey Rd, Burton-on-Trent DE14 3NT
- Imex Business ParkBurton-on-Trent DE14 2BA
- Greenline Business ParkBurton-on-Trent DE14 2AS
- Clarke Industrial EstateBurton-on-Trent DE14 1QT
- Insley Industrial EstateBurton-on-Trent DE14 2AP
- H C M Industrial EstateBurton-on-Trent DE14 1QR
- Trent Industrial EstateBurton-on-Trent DE14 1QY
- Manor Industrial EstateBurton-on-Trent DE14 1QX
Burton's industrial stock has hardly grown, up 1.5% to 1,330 units since 2016, yet its average rateable value is £62,800, well above Stafford or Stoke. That combination points to a tight market for larger units, where an owner-occupier can find itself bidding against investors. 'Other' property, which includes the town's pubs and clubs, is up 10.4% to 1,060.
Retail and the market: commercial property loans in Burton-on-Trent town centre
A Thursday market has been held since King John granted a charter on 12 April 1200, and today there are indoor and outdoor markets owned by East Staffordshire Borough Council, with the Market Hall built in 1883. The Octagon Shopping Centre stands on the former Briggs works site in New Street. Shops with flats above are financed as semi-commercial premises, with indicative rates of 6.5 to 8.5% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation.
Tax, access and refinancing for business property in Burton upon Trent, England
Burton has Derby postcodes and an East Midlands accent, but it is in Staffordshire and the West Midlands region, and as an English town it pays Stamp Duty Land Tax at HMRC's non-residential rates: 0% to £150,000, 2% on the next £100,000 and 5% above £250,000, as at October 2026 (see our commercial stamp duty guide). The lender takes a first legal charge at HM Land Registry, and planning sits with East Staffordshire Borough Council.
The A38 bypasses the town towards Birmingham and Derby, the A444 links to the M42 and the A511 to Leicester, and the railway station is on the Cross Country Route.
Illustrative example. A Burton food producer buys a freehold unit for £550,000. A 75% loan is £412,500 and the deposit £137,500. SDLT is £2,000 plus £15,000, a total of £17,000. 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.
Burton districts and trading locations
Town centre and the Octagon
The Octagon Shopping Centre, the Market Hall and the outdoor market anchor Burton's retail core on the western bank of the Trent. Independent retailers and service firms buy shops and offices here, many in older buildings with upper floors.
Bridge Street and Wharf Road
Burton Bridge Brewery is on Bridge Street and Tower Brewery is just off Wharf Road. These streets show how small brewers fit into the town fabric, and they suit craft producers and taprooms looking for characterful buildings near the river.
Wellington Road
The Marmite factory has operated here since the 1960s. Food manufacturing and related suppliers make Wellington Road and its surroundings a working industrial area, where buyers look for units with good loading access.
Branston
The original home of Branston Pickle, whose old factory can still be seen on Burton Road, and once home to Eatough's shoe factory, which closed in 1989. Buyers looking at former factory buildings here should expect the valuer to focus on condition and how readily another occupier would take the space.
Stapenhill and Winshill
The suburb of Stapenhill and the village of Winshill sit on higher ground, rising to 100 m and 130 m against a town centre at about 50 m. Local shops, practices and service businesses trade here, often in mixed-use parades financed as semi-commercial property.
The A38 and A5121 junction
Spirit Pub Company was near the A5121 and A38 junction, with Punch Taverns slightly further north. Offices and business premises here benefit from direct access to the A38, and lenders value that road position.
