Huddersfield is the administrative centre and largest settlement in Kirklees, with a population of 141,692 in 2021. Wikipedia calls it a manufacturing town, even though the University of Huddersfield is the largest employer. The rivers that meet south of the centre provided the soft water that textile weaving sheds needed, and the chemical and engineering industries that grew up to support textiles are still here.
We arrange business mortgages for Huddersfield companies that want to own the premises they trade from. We are a broker, not a lender. This is commercial finance secured on a trading company's building and assessed on its accounts; it is not a home loan.
Which factories and workshops do Huddersfield, England manufacturers buy?
The roll call of local manufacturers is long: Cummins Turbo Technologies (turbochargers), David Brown Gear systems, Huddersfield Fine Worsteds, Taylor & Lodge and C & J Antich in textiles, Syngenta in agro-chemicals, Pennine Radio in electronics and sheet metalwork, Dual Seal Glass, Ellis Furniture, Andrew Jones Pies, Mamas and Papas and Shelley Automation. Surviving textile firms produce large quantities of woollen products with relatively little labour.
For the smaller engineers, suppliers and niche manufacturers around them, owning a factory or workshop fixes occupancy costs and protects a site that has been fitted out at real expense. An owner-occupier mortgage on a standard industrial unit is indicatively 6.0 to 7.5% a year at 70 to 75% loan to value, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Lenders are comfortable with general-purpose units; heavily specialised buildings can narrow the field.
Upholsterers and weavers: Kirklees' standout trades
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units. Figures are for the Kirklees local authority area.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Huddersfield share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | 2,115 | 12% | 9.4% |
| Construction and building trades | 2,085 | 11.8% | 12.6% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 2,010 | 11.4% | 13.9% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 1,395 | 7.9% | 4.3% |
| Health and social care | 1,355 | 7.7% | 5.7% |
| Business support services | 1,285 | 7.3% | 8.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 1,215 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
| Wholesale | 855 | 4.8% | 3.7% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 810 | 4.6% | 4.2% |
- 7.4xfurniture making270 businesses
- 4.9xtextile manufacturing120 businesses
- 2.2xmachinery manufacturing90 businesses
- 1.9xmotor vehicles and parts40 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Kirklees has a highly specialised manufacturing base. Its 270 furniture makers, many of them bed and upholstery firms around Batley and Dewsbury, give it more than seven times the UK concentration, and 120 textile firms run at almost five times. Manufacturing and engineering overall accounts for 7.9% of the 17,700 local businesses.
Huddersfield's woollen trade lives on in its fine worsted cloth makers, and alongside them sit vehicle builders and fabricated metal firms. For a manufacturer buying its mill or works, the valuer will balance the building's character against how easily another business could use it.
Mill buildings and the ring road: premises finance in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
The town centre has much neoclassical Victorian architecture, including the Grade I listed railway station. The inner ring road, part of the A62 built in the 1970s, now defines the boundary of the central business district, and many streets inside it are pedestrianised. Outside the ring, older mill and works buildings house manufacturers, studios and trade businesses. North Light Film Studios at Brookes Mill shows how these buildings are taking on new uses.
Lenders fund mill space and listed buildings, but they focus on condition, title and how easily the space could be sold on. Where your business takes only part of a building and the rest is let, the lender needs to see your company occupying most of the space. Valley-floor sites near the Colne and Holme can carry flood risk, so check insurance early. Planning sits with Kirklees Council, and the town is within a green belt that encourages reuse of brownfield land.
Small offices and slow-growing units across Kirklees
Valuation Office Agency, non-domestic rating stock of properties, March 2026. Figures for the Kirklees council area. Average rateable value is the VOA's estimate of annual rent, not a sale price.
- Industrial and warehouse5,770properties on the rating listUp 5.5% since 2016Average rateable value £21,300factories, workshops, warehouses and trade units
- Offices2,800properties on the rating listUp 9.8% since 2016Average rateable value £8,600offices, including converted buildings
- Shops and retail4,200properties on the rating listDown 1.6% since 2016Average rateable value £17,800shops, showrooms and retail warehouses
- Other commercial3,550properties on the rating listUp 10.9% since 2016Average rateable value £23,200pubs, hotels, surgeries, nurseries, garages and more
Huddersfield units owned by their occupiers, Ringway to Hoyers
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Huddersfield, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- 3M Buckley Innovation CentreHuddersfield HD1 3BD
- Silver Court Industrial EstateHuddersfield HD5 9AG
- Ashley Business ParkHuddersfield HD1 6RX
- Beck Road Ringway Industrial EstateHuddersfield HD1 5DG
- The Triangle Business ParkPaddock, Huddersfield HD1 4RN
- The Ringway Industrial ParkHuddersfield HD1 5DG
- Gatehouse Enterprise CentreLockwood, Huddersfield HD1 3PR
- Hoyers Industrial EstateHuddersfield HD2 1YJ
- Old Fieldhouse Lane Industrial EstateLeeds Rd, Huddersfield HD2 1AG
- Queensmill Industrial EstateHuddersfield HD2 1AG
- Crowthers Business ParkTanyard Rd, Milnsbridge, Huddersfield HD3 4NB
- Bankwell Business ParkHuddersfield
Kirklees offices average only £8,600 in rateable value, so most are small suites and floors in converted buildings, and their number has risen 9.8% since 2016 to 2,800. Industrial stock grew more slowly, up 5.5% to 5,770 units averaging £21,300. 'Other' property rose 10.9%. A Huddersfield firm buying a small office or workshop is borrowing modest sums, and the deposit is often a bigger hurdle than the rate.
M62 junctions, tax and a commercial property loan in the Huddersfield area
The M62 passes about 2.5 miles north of the town with three junctions: Mount (J23, limited access), Ainley Top (J24) and between Brighouse and Cooper Bridge (J25). The M1 is about 10 miles east. Radial routes include the A62 Leeds and Manchester Roads, the A641 to Bradford, the A629 to Halifax, the A640 New Hey Road and the A642 to Wakefield.
A purchase pays SDLT at HMRC's non-residential rates: 0% to £150,000, 2% to £250,000 and 5% above (gov.uk; rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy). Illustrative example. An engineering firm buys a freehold works for £550,000, borrowing £412,500 at 75% loan to value with a £137,500 deposit. SDLT is £2,000 plus £15,000: £17,000. See our commercial stamp duty guide for leases and VAT.
Medical, dental and other professional practices can look at our professional practice mortgages page. Huddersfield sits within our West Yorkshire coverage.
Huddersfield districts where businesses trade
Town centre
The central business district inside the A62 ring road, with its Victorian buildings and pedestrianised streets. Huddersfield bus station, the busiest in West Yorkshire, brings almost 35,000 people through daily. Retailers, cafés and professional firms buy here, and listed buildings need a careful survey before a lender commits.
Lindley
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary is in Lindley, and medical services are split between it and Calderdale Royal Hospital near Halifax. A large hospital nearby draws health-related occupiers such as pharmacies, clinics and practices, which can often access specialist lending terms when they buy their building.
St Thomas's Road
Brook Motors' biggest factory, Empress Works, stood on St Thomas's Road when the company ran ten factories in the town in 1954. The street reflects Huddersfield's industrial depth. Older works buildings like these can suit manufacturers needing space, provided the survey and environmental searches are clean.
Ainley Top
The site of junction 24 of the M62, where the A629 meets the motorway. Locations with direct motorway access suit distribution, trade and manufacturing firms that move goods across the Pennines. Lenders find well-connected units straightforward to value and to resell.
Colne Valley and Holme Valley
Neighbouring wards often considered part of Huddersfield, though predominantly semi-rural, following the Colne and Holme that meet south of the town. Premises along the valley floors tend to be older buildings, so flood risk and access for larger vehicles are the questions a lender will raise early.
