Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council was established on 1 April 2015 and covers most of the northern coast of Northern Ireland. It replaced four councils: Ballymoney Borough Council, Coleraine Borough Council, Limavady Borough Council and Moyle District Council. Its area had 141,745 residents at the 2021 census. Elections took place on 22 May 2014 and the council ran in shadow form until the district was created the following April.
We broker business mortgages; we do not lend. We arrange long-term finance for limited companies across the borough that want to buy the premises they trade from, or refinance a building they already own. It is lending secured on a working business property, not a residential mortgage, and we put each case in front of the lenders whose criteria fit the company and the building.
What premises do businesses in the Causeway Coast and Glens District buy?
A coastal borough of market towns and resorts produces a mixed demand. Coleraine, the largest town, is the retail and service centre and has been designated a "major growth area" in the Northern Ireland Development Strategy. Seaside towns such as Portrush, reached by the branch line from Coleraine, depend on visitors, so hotels, guest houses, cafés, bars and leisure operators are a big share of the owner-occupiers. Inland, Ballymoney and Limavady serve farming hinterlands, with agricultural suppliers, motor dealers, food producers and trades.
The product depends on the property. A company buying an office, shop or workshop it occupies uses an owner-occupier mortgage, indicatively 6.0 to 7.5% a year. Hotels and pubs are priced as trading businesses, at around 7.0 to 9.0%. A shop with a flat above is semi-commercial, typically up to 75% loan to value. All figures are indicative, subject to status, accounts and valuation.
Farms, builders and food makers from Coleraine to the Glens
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Causeway Coast and Glens share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 2,030 | 26.9% | 4.5% |
| Construction and building trades | 1,080 | 14.3% | 12.5% |
| Retail | 670 | 8.9% | 9.4% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 410 | 5.4% | 6.1% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 360 | 4.8% | 14.1% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 355 | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Health and social care | 325 | 4.3% | 5.7% |
| Education | 280 | 3.7% | 2.6% |
| Motor trade and vehicle repair | 275 | 3.6% | 2.9% |
- 6.4xfarming2,010 businesses
- 2.7xenergy supply50 businesses
- 2.1xmembership organisations135 businesses
- 1.8xtimber and wood products45 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
More than a quarter of the borough's 7,540 businesses are in farming, forestry and fishing: 26.9%, about six times the UK share, with 2,010 crop and livestock producers. Builders are the next largest group, at 14.3%, and micro firms make up 87% of the total.
Visitor businesses matter on the coast, yet restaurants, cafes and pubs sit below the national share at 5.4%. Food producers and wood products firms both run at close to twice the UK rate. A rural workshop or farm shop with a trading business attached needs a lender comfortable with countryside locations, where comparable sales are few and valuations lean more on the property's income.
How do lenders treat seasonal and rural commercial property loans along Northern Ireland's north coast?
Tourism-led businesses can be good borrowers, but lenders want to see the full year. Expect them to ask for two or three years of accounts, monthly management figures that show the quieter winter months, and evidence that the owners have run hospitality before. Strong, steady profit across the seasons is more persuasive than a busy summer.
Rural premises raise different questions. A valuer will consider access, how specialised the building is and how many other businesses could use it if it came back to the market. Distance also matters: Coleraine is 55 miles from Belfast and 30 miles from Derry, with road and rail links to both, and the Belfast to Derry railway is due to be upgraded for more frequent, faster trains. Towns on that line have a wider pool of occupiers than remote glens.
What cash does buying business property on the Causeway Coast need?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the lower of price and valuation, occasionally 80% for strong cases, over 5 to 25 years, with arrangement fees of around 1 to 2%. The deposit, tax and fees come from the business. Northern Ireland pays Stamp Duty Land Tax, charged by HMRC at 0% on the first £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000 for non-residential property (rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy).
Illustrative example. A family company buys a freehold café and retail building in a coastal town for £500,000. A 75% loan is £375,000, leaving a £125,000 deposit. SDLT is £14,500, so the business needs about £139,500 in cash before fees. If the building has a flat the owners will live in, the loan may become regulated, which changes who can arrange it. Our guide to commercial stamp duty explains the bands.
Who handles planning and legal title for premises finance in the borough?
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council handles most local planning applications. Permissions granted before 2015 may carry the name of one of the four former councils and still apply; your solicitor will confirm the current use is lawful. The lender's charge is registered through Land and Property Services, and the conveyancing must be done by a solicitor qualified in Northern Ireland, a separate jurisdiction from England and Wales.
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 commercial mortgages in Northern Ireland page covers the other council areas.
Premises finance in the borough's towns
Coleraine
A market town near the mouth of the River Bann with 24,483 people in 2021, and the borough's main commercial centre. Retailers, professional firms and service businesses buy premises around The Diamond and the town centre.
Portrush
A resort town at the end of the branch line from Coleraine. Hotels, guest houses, restaurants and leisure businesses are the typical buyers, assessed by lenders on their year-round trading.
Ballymoney
Formerly the seat of Ballymoney Borough Council and a market town serving the surrounding farmland. Agricultural suppliers, motor businesses and trades buy workshops, yards and showrooms.
Limavady
The western end of the borough, once run by Limavady Borough Council, between Coleraine and Derry. Local manufacturers, retailers and professional practices are the common owner-occupiers.
The Glens and the Moyle coast
The former Moyle District covered the north-east corner and the Glens of Antrim. Village shops, holiday accommodation and food businesses buy smaller premises, and lenders weigh access and seasonality carefully.
