Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is one of Northern Ireland's eleven local councils. It was established on 1 April 2015, replacing Antrim Borough Council and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Its first elections were held on 22 May 2014, with 73 candidates standing for 40 seats. The borough joins two quite different places: Antrim, the historic county town on the Six Mile Water, and Newtownabbey, the large settlement that wraps around Carnmoney Hill on the northern side of Belfast.
We are a commercial mortgage broker, not a lender. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies that want to buy, or refinance, the premises they trade from anywhere in the borough. This is secured lending on a trading company's own building, which is a different product from a residential mortgage. We take the case to the lenders whose criteria fit.
Which premises do firms across Antrim and Newtownabbey buy with an owner-occupier mortgage?
The borough's two halves create two kinds of demand. On the Newtownabbey side, the M2 runs straight through the urban area and the M5 begins at its south-eastern edge, so the companies that ask us about buying tend to be distributors, trade suppliers, contractors and light manufacturers who want a unit within easy reach of Belfast and the motorway network. Antrim, by contrast, is a market town with Belfast International Airport five miles to the south, which suits firms that need air links, as well as the shops, offices and workshops that serve the town itself.
Typical purchases include an industrial or warehouse unit, an office suite, a showroom or trade counter, and a shop with storage behind it. Where there is a flat above a shop, the property is treated as semi-commercial; our page on semi-commercial premises explains how lenders approach that mix. For a straightforward purchase of the building your business occupies, see our guide to owner-occupier mortgages.
Farms, depots and garages around Belfast's northern edge
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Antrim and Newtownabbey share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 745 | 13.6% | 4.4% |
| Construction and building trades | 600 | 11% | 12.5% |
| Retail | 525 | 9.6% | 9.3% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 400 | 7.3% | 13.8% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 325 | 5.9% | 4.2% |
| Health and social care | 325 | 5.9% | 5.6% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 320 | 5.9% | 4.2% |
| Business support services | 275 | 5% | 8.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 270 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
- 3.2xfarming735 businesses
- 2.4xmembership organisations110 businesses
- 2.0xmachinery repair and installation55 businesses
- 1.7xwarehousing and logistics75 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
The borough's 5,460 businesses combine a farming hinterland with a busy distribution belt near the airport and the M2. Farming, forestry and fishing accounts for 13.6% of firms, three times the UK share, with 735 crop and livestock producers. Transport and logistics, at 5.9%, includes 75 warehousing businesses and 110 courier operators, and the motor trade runs at 1.63 times the national rate.
Professional services are thin, at 7.3% of firms, so most borrowers here are hands-on operators: hauliers, garages and agricultural engineers. Their premises are typically yards and sheds where a lender's valuer will focus on access, hardstanding and any environmental history.
How do the airport, the motorways and the railways affect commercial property loans in south County Antrim?
Belfast International Airport, formerly Aldergrove Airport, is Northern Ireland's largest airport, with routes to Britain, Europe and North America, though it has no rail link. Antrim railway station sits on the Belfast to Derry line, and Newtownabbey has three stations: Mossley West on the same line, and Jordanstown and Whiteabbey on the Belfast to Larne line.
Those links matter to a lender because they affect how easily a building could be let or sold if the borrower ever moved out. A clean, well-located unit near a motorway junction or the airport is generally straightforward to value. A heavily adapted building on a rural lane can still be financed, but the lender may cut the loan to value to reflect a narrower pool of buyers.
What does premises finance cost up front in Antrim and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland?
For a company buying the building it trades from, lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower, and up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing runs from 6.0 to 7.5% a year, over terms of 5 to 25 years, with arrangement fees usually 1 to 2%. All of that is indicative, subject to status, accounts and valuation.
Northern Ireland pays the same property tax as England, Stamp Duty Land Tax. HMRC's non-residential bands are 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 fabrication firm buys a freehold unit near the M2 for £420,000. A 75% loan is £315,000, so the deposit is £105,000. SDLT comes to £10,500, which means the business needs about £115,500 in cash before legal and valuation fees. Our guide to stamp duty on commercial property shows how each band is worked out.
Who handles planning and title for business property finance in the borough?
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is the planning authority for most local applications. A lender's solicitor will want to see that the building's current use is lawful, so any change of use or extension should have its consent in place before you apply.
Title works differently from Great Britain. Northern Ireland is a separate legal jurisdiction, and land is recorded by Land and Property Services rather than HM Land Registry, so you need a solicitor qualified here and a lender whose legal process covers Northern Ireland security. 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. Our Northern Ireland business mortgages page covers the rest of the province.
Owner-occupier finance in the borough's towns and districts
Antrim
The county town of County Antrim stands on the banks of the Six Mile Water at the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, about 14 miles north-west of Belfast, and had 25,606 people at the 2021 census. It was the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council until 2015. Owner-occupiers here range from town-centre retailers to firms that value the short run to Belfast International Airport.
Newtownabbey
Metropolitan Newtownabbey had 67,599 people at the 2021 census, making it Northern Ireland's third largest settlement. It grew from villages such as Whiteabbey, Glengormley and Carnmoney and sits within the Belfast metropolitan area. With the M2 passing through, it draws companies wanting warehouse, workshop and trade premises close to the city without a city-centre address.
Glengormley
One of the original villages that merged to form Newtownabbey, Glengormley is now one of its busiest districts. Its local shops, food businesses and professional practices are the kind of owner-occupiers who buy a single retail unit or a small office, sometimes with accommodation above that a lender would treat as semi-commercial.
Mallusk
Mallusk is one of the townlands within Newtownabbey's urban area, on its western side near the M2. Its business premises lean towards industrial, storage and distribution use, so the typical deal we see is a company buying a unit with yard space that it has outgrown renting, or refinancing a building it already owns.
Jordanstown and Whiteabbey
These shoreline districts on Belfast Lough each have a station on the Belfast to Larne line. Smaller offices, clinics, dental and veterinary practices and neighbourhood retail are the common owner-occupied premises here, and professional practices can look at our practice and franchise mortgages page.
