Warwickshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands, bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcestershire and the West Midlands county to the west. Nuneaton is its largest settlement. The county is largely rural, covering 763 square miles, with an estimated population of 632,207 in 2024, and for local government it is a non-metropolitan county with five districts. The north and east industrialised on coal, textiles, engineering and cement; the centre and west built prosperity on tourism and, more recently, games development.
We are a broker. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies buying or refinancing the premises they trade from anywhere in the county, and we never lend ourselves. This is finance secured on your company's own building, not a residential mortgage. We assess the accounts, the property and the deal, then approach the lenders whose criteria fit.
Which premises do Warwickshire companies buy with an owner-occupier mortgage?
Automotive work anchors the economy. BMW's Hams Hall plant in the north employs over 1,000 people, while Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda have headquarters at Gaydon in the south. Around them sit component makers, test and design firms and logistics businesses. In the northern and eastern towns, heavy industry has given way to distribution centres, light to medium industry and services, so warehouses, trade units and workshops are the usual purchases there.
The centre of the county looks different. Codemasters has worked from Southam since 1986, and the "Silicon Spa" area around Southam, Royal Leamington Spa and Warwick is home to dozens of game studios employing over 2,000 people, more than 10% of the UK's games development workforce. Studios buy offices and converted buildings rather than sheds. Tourism, worth over £1 billion of business turnover and almost 20,000 jobs, adds hotels, pubs and shops. Our owner-occupier mortgage page explains how lenders view each type.
Car makers and consultants: the Warwickshire business mix
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Covers 5 council areas: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Warwickshire share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific and technical | 4,865 | 15.7% | 13.9% |
| Construction and building trades | 3,355 | 10.8% | 12.4% |
| Business support services | 2,560 | 8.3% | 8.1% |
| Retail | 2,540 | 8.2% | 9.3% |
| Information and communication | 1,915 | 6.2% | 6.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 1,880 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 1,670 | 5.4% | 4.2% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 1,585 | 5.1% | 4.3% |
| Health and social care | 1,465 | 4.7% | 5.6% |
- 3.2xmotor vehicles and parts115 businesses
- 1.8xelectrical equipment55 businesses
- 1.7xmachinery manufacturing120 businesses
- 1.6xfabricated metal products350 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Warwickshire's five districts hold 30,900 businesses with two strong threads. Professional, scientific and technical firms make up 15.7%, above the 13.9% UK share, a reflection of the engineering consultancies and design studios around Warwick and Leamington. And the county is car country: motor vehicle and parts manufacturers run at 3.2 times the national rate, with 115 firms, alongside 1,020 road haulage businesses.
Automotive suppliers often occupy purpose-built units with specialist power and floor loading. A valuer will ask whether the building suits a general industrial occupier too, and the answer shapes how much a lender will advance against it.
How do the M6, M40 and M69 shape commercial property loans in the County of Warwick?
The M40 runs through the centre of the county, serving Leamington Spa, Warwick and Stratford. The M6 crosses the north, serving Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth, and the M69 links Nuneaton with Leicester. The M45, the southern end of the M6 Toll and the M42 also pass through, alongside the A45, A46, A452, A5 and A444. The A5, the old Watling Street, marks the boundary with Leicestershire.
That network explains the warehouses and distribution buildings along the northern and eastern corridors. For a buyer, a unit near a junction tends to value well because another occupier could take it on. Businesses buying a large shed quickly, perhaps at auction, sometimes start with premises bridging, at indicative rates of 0.70 to 0.95% a month, subject to status, accounts and valuation, before moving onto a long-term loan.
Warwickshire's rating list since 2016: sheds, care and leisure
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Totals for North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse6,020properties on the rating listUp 11.3% since 2016Average rateable value £69,400factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices3,760properties on the rating listUp 3.3% since 2016Average rateable value £21,300offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail4,250properties on the rating listDown 1.2% since 2016Average rateable value £24,700shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial6,350properties on the rating listUp 30.7% since 2016Average rateable value £30,000pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
The biggest change on Warwickshire's rating list is in 'other' property, up 30.7% since 2016 to 6,350. That category spans leisure, hospitality, care and specialist buildings. Industrial units are up 11.3% and carry a high average rateable value of £69,400, a sign of the large distribution sheds along the M6 and A5. Retail has slipped 1.2%. Bigger industrial buildings also draw investor interest, which gives a valuer plenty of evidence.
What does buying business property in Warwickshire, England cost up front?
Owner-occupier lenders usually advance 70 to 75% of the lower of price and valuation, with up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation, over 5 to 25 years with arrangement fees of 1 to 2%. Stamp Duty Land Tax 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 distribution company buys a freehold warehouse near the M6 for £1,200,000. A 75% loan of £900,000 leaves a £300,000 deposit, and SDLT is £49,500, so the business needs roughly £349,500 of its own money before legal and valuation fees. Our guide to stamp duty on commercial property shows the working.
Who handles planning and legal security for premises finance in Warwickshire, UK?
Warwickshire has a county council and five district councils, and planning for most business premises sits with the district where the building stands. The lender's solicitor checks that the building's use is lawful and that nothing in the planning history restricts it, which matters for rural premises in the Cotswolds fringe or near listed buildings in Warwick and Stratford.
The lender takes a first legal charge registered at HM Land Registry, often with a debenture or director guarantees. Commercial lending to a limited company is unregulated and falls outside the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter; where a deal would be regulated, such as lending to a sole trader or individual, or a building in which the borrower or a close family member will live in part, we refer it to an appropriately authorised firm. Other counties nearby are on our West Midlands region page.
Owner-occupier finance in Warwickshire's towns
Nuneaton
The county's largest town grew on ribbon weaving and coal mining. Today automotive, aerospace and engineering suppliers are active here, and Bermuda Park to the south holds national distribution centres. Buyers typically want industrial units, warehouses and town-centre shops near the A444 and the M6.
Rugby
Rugby's railway junction brought heavy engineering, and the town still produces large electric motors, lasers and cement. Its central position on the M6, M1 and A5 has made it a logistics hub, so warehouses and industrial estate units are the main owner-occupier purchases.
Royal Leamington Spa
A Regency spa town that has become a centre for retail and the games industry, known as Silicon Spa. Studios buy offices and converted Regency buildings, while light industry and trade firms use the estates on the south side of the town.
Warwick
The county town sits beside Leamington across the Avon and shares in the Silicon Spa cluster. Historic buildings, tourism and professional services dominate, so purchases are often offices, shops and hospitality premises, sometimes in listed buildings that need careful survey work.
Stratford-upon-Avon
William Shakespeare's birthplace in 1564 makes Stratford the county's best-known tourist town, served by the M40. Hotels, restaurants, shops and visitor businesses are the typical owner-occupiers, and lenders value these on trading performance as well as bricks and mortar.
Southam and Gaydon
Codemasters has operated from Southam since 1986, and Gaydon hosts headquarters for Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda. Design consultancies, studios and automotive suppliers in the south of the county look for offices and well-specified light industrial space.
Coleshill and Hams Hall
In the north, close to the M6 and M42, BMW's Hams Hall plant employs over 1,000 people. Component suppliers, hauliers and engineering firms around Coleshill buy warehouses and industrial units with good motorway access.
Bedworth and Atherstone
These northern market towns were industrialised in the 19th century on coal and textiles. Today they host light industry, distribution and local services, and owner-occupiers usually buy workshops, smaller units and high-street shops.
