Mid Ulster District Council was established on 1 April 2015, replacing Cookstown District Council, Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council and Magherafelt District Council. Its three main towns are Dungannon, Cookstown and Magherafelt. Dungannon, the second-largest town in County Tyrone after Omagh, had 16,282 residents at the 2021 census; Cookstown, a market town, had 12,546. Both were linen centres, and Dungannon has since become a hub for food processing and engineering.
We arrange commercial mortgages for limited companies anywhere in Mid Ulster that want to buy or refinance the premises they trade from. We are a broker, never a lender: we assess the business and the building, then take the case to the lenders whose criteria suit it. This is finance for a trading company's own property, not a residential mortgage.
Which premises do owner-occupier mortgages fund in the Mid Ulster district?
Few parts of Northern Ireland have such a concentrated industrial base. Moy Park, the poultry processor, is Dungannon's principal employer and, with turnover of more than £2bn in 2023, one of Northern Ireland's largest private-sector employers. Dunbia runs a major red meat processing and wholesale facility in the town, and in 2024 Terex opened a new headquarters in Dungannon for Powerscreen, which makes lifting and materials processing equipment.
Large employers like these support a long chain of smaller companies, and those are the firms that typically buy their own premises:
- engineering and fabrication workshops supplying the equipment and food sectors
- haulage, cold storage and packaging businesses needing yards and warehouses
- builders, plant hire firms and agricultural suppliers serving a rural area
- shops, cafes and professional offices along the market towns' main streets
Our page on owner-occupier mortgages explains how lenders assess a company buying its building.
Machinery, furniture and quarry products: what Mid Ulster makes
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Mid Ulster share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 3,400 | 31% | 4.5% |
| Construction and building trades | 1,755 | 16% | 12.5% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 845 | 7.7% | 4.3% |
| Retail | 725 | 6.6% | 9.3% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 600 | 5.5% | 14.1% |
| Motor trade and vehicle repair | 410 | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| Wholesale | 390 | 3.6% | 3.8% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 375 | 3.4% | 4.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 350 | 3.2% | 6.3% |
- 7.4xfarming3,380 businesses
- 3.7xmachinery manufacturing95 businesses
- 3.4xenergy supply90 businesses
- 2.9xglass, ceramics and building materials50 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Manufacturing and engineering makes up 7.7% of businesses across the council area against 4.3% nationally, and the detail is striking. Machinery and equipment makers run at 3.73 times the UK share, non-metallic mineral products such as concrete and stone at 2.88 times, and furniture makers at 2.87 times. Construction adds a further 16% of firms.
Many of those manufacturers own large, specialist sheds. Where a building is fitted out for one process, the valuer will weigh how easily another occupier could use it, which can affect the loan amount more than the rate.
How much does a commercial property loan across Mid-Ulster cost up front?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation, up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year for owner-occupiers, subject to status, accounts and valuation, with terms of 5 to 25 years and arrangement fees usually 1 to 2%.
Mid Ulster is in Northern Ireland, so Stamp Duty Land Tax applies. HMRC's non-residential rates 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). The return and payment are due within 14 days of completion.
Illustrative example. A fabrication company buys a freehold factory unit near Dungannon for £1,000,000. A 75% loan is £750,000, leaving a £250,000 deposit. SDLT is £2,000 on the middle band plus £37,500 on the £750,000 above £250,000, a total of £39,500. The company therefore needs about £289,500 before fees. See our guide to stamp duty on commercial property for the bands across the UK.
Do specialist food and engineering buildings in Mid Ulster, Northern Ireland suit premises finance?
They can, but lenders look at how specialised a building is. A clean, well-built industrial unit that another engineering or distribution firm could move into is straightforward to value. A food-processing building with chillers, drainage and hygiene fit-out designed for one operation may be valued more cautiously, because fewer buyers could use it as it stands. That can mean a lower loan to value, so the deposit needs to reflect it.
We discuss the building's specification with the valuer before the inspection, so the report reflects both its specialist features and its underlying use as an industrial building. Companies that already own their site and want to change lender or raise capital can look at remortgaging business premises, at an indicative 6.0 to 8.0% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation.
Planning, title and roads for business property finance in the Mid Ulster council area
Mid Ulster District Council is the planning authority across the district. Northern Ireland is a separate legal jurisdiction, so your solicitor acts under Northern Ireland law, title is recorded by Land and Property Services, and the lender's charge is registered there. Not every lender covers Northern Ireland security, so we confirm that first.
Dungannon is linked to the M1 motorway, which runs from the south-east of the town towards Belfast, and the nearest railway station is Portadown. For a distribution or manufacturing business, access to the M1 is often central to how a valuer judges a unit.
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. See our Northern Ireland business mortgages page for the nation as a whole.
Mid Ulster towns where companies buy their premises
Dungannon
The largest town in the district, built around Castle Hill, was a linen centre in the 19th century and drew an extensive food processing industry in the late 20th. Moy Park, Dunbia and Powerscreen are all based here. Suppliers, hauliers and engineering firms buying units near the M1 are typical borrowers.
Cookstown
A market town founded in the early 17th century and rebuilt by the Stewart family in the late 18th, Cookstown is said to have the longest main street in Ireland. Retailers, cafes and professional firms along it, plus trades on the edges of town, make up most owner-occupier demand.
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is the third of the district's main towns and the former seat of Magherafelt District Council. As a market and service centre for the surrounding countryside, its owner-occupiers are mostly shops, trade suppliers, offices and small workshops.
Coalisland
Coalisland, near Dungannon, once had a rail branch that closed in 1959. Today it is a working town where engineering, building and manufacturing firms buy yards and units, and a lender will look at the building's access and how adaptable it is.
