Specialist business mortgage broker for companies in Dundee City

Dundee's economy was transformed after the Second World War. NCR chose the city as its UK base in 1945 and by the 1960s was its principal employer, making cash registers and later ATMs. A Michelin tyre factory absorbed jobs lost from jute, and closed in June 2020 with the loss of 850 jobs. The city lost nearly 10,000 manufacturing jobs in the 1980s, was declared an Enterprise Zone in January 1984, and saw the first ZX Spectrum home computers produced by Timex in 1983.

Registered enterprises grew by 20.9% between 2011 and 2015, from 2,655 to 3,210, and the Professional, Scientific and Technical sector gained jobs. The companies buying premises are correspondingly varied: software and games studios, life-science and engineering firms, professional practices, manufacturers and wholesalers, food and drink businesses, and the shops and restaurants of the centre. Our page on owner-occupier mortgages explains how lenders assess them.

A £1 billion master plan to regenerate the Waterfront and reconnect it to the city centre began in 2001 and is expected to be completed within a 30-year period. The V&A Dundee, the first branch of the V&A outside London, is its centrepiece, and the RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic vessel, is berthed at Discovery Point. GQ magazine named Dundee the "Coolest Little City in Britain" in 2015.

For owner-occupiers, regeneration means both new commercial space and older buildings suited to refurbishment. New buildings with good comparables make valuation straightforward. Older mill and warehouse conversions can make excellent premises but need a full survey, and the lender will look at condition, use and any listing. Hospitality businesses near the Waterfront are assessed as trading businesses, typically 7.0 to 9.0% a year, indicative, subject to status, accounts and valuation.

Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation, up to 80% for strong cases, over 5 to 25 years, at indicative rates of 6.0 to 7.5% a year for owner-occupiers, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Arrangement fees are usually 1 to 2%.

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applies. Revenue Scotland's non-residential rates are 0% up to £150,000, 1% 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 precision engineering company buys a freehold unit off the Kingsway for £650,000. A 75% loan is £487,500 and the deposit £162,500. LBTT is £21,000, so the business needs about £183,500 of its own cash before fees. Our guide to commercial property tax compares LBTT with SDLT and LTT.

Dundee City Council is the planning authority and also one of the city's largest employers, alongside NHS Tayside, the University of Dundee, Tayside Contracts, Tesco, D. C. Thomson & Co and BT. Its planning records confirm the lawful use of a building, which the lender's solicitor checks before releasing funds. The purchase binds once missives conclude, and the lender's standard security is registered in the Land Register of Scotland.

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 business mortgages in Scotland page covers the national picture, and remortgaging business premises covers owners who want to refinance.