East Lothian is one of Scotland's 32 council areas and also a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. Until 1921 it was called Haddingtonshire. It lies south of the Firth of Forth in the eastern central Lowlands, bordered by Edinburgh to the west, Midlothian to the south-west and the Scottish Borders to the south. Haddington is the administrative centre and former county town, Musselburgh is the largest town, and Haddington, Dunbar and North Berwick were all royal burghs. In the 19th century the Gazetteer for Scotland described the county as chiefly agricultural, with farming, fishing and coal mining the main parts of the economy.
We are a broker, never a lender. We arrange business mortgages for trading companies that want to buy or refinance their own premises anywhere in East Lothian, from a coastal café to a yard off the A1. This is commercial finance secured on the building your business occupies, not a residential mortgage, and we take the case to the lenders whose criteria fit your accounts and the property.
Which buildings do East Lothian, Scotland firms buy with premises finance?
The county is mostly rural, with 40 miles of coastline and a string of towns along the Firth of Forth: Musselburgh, Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton, Longniddry, Aberlady, Gullane, North Berwick and Dunbar. Only Tranent and Haddington are landlocked. Inland, the land rises to the Lammermuir Hills on the Berwickshire boundary.
That geography produces a particular mix of owner-occupiers. Farming and food businesses buy steadings, stores and processing units. Agricultural engineers, builders and trades firms buy workshops and yards. The coastal towns support hotels, restaurants, golf-related businesses and independent shops, many in older stone buildings with living space above. Where a flat is part of the building, lenders treat it as semi-commercial, which our page on semi-commercial premises explains. Hotels and other trading businesses are priced on their trade, at an indicative 7.0 to 9.0% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation.
Golf, farming and building trades along the Lothian coast
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | East Lothian share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and building trades | 530 | 13.7% | 12.6% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 495 | 12.8% | 13.9% |
| Retail | 375 | 9.7% | 9.4% |
| Business support services | 285 | 7.3% | 8% |
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 280 | 7.2% | 4.4% |
| Health and social care | 250 | 6.4% | 5.6% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 240 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
| Arts, sport and leisure | 190 | 4.9% | 3% |
| Information and communication | 180 | 4.6% | 6.1% |
- 2.2xhotels and accommodation70 businesses
- 2.1xsport and leisure115 businesses
- 1.9xsocial work and day care125 businesses
- 1.5xfarming250 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Leisure is the unusual strength. Arts, sport and leisure businesses make up 4.9% of firms against 3% across the UK, and sports and recreation activities, a category that takes in the county's golf courses, run at 2.06 times the national share. Accommodation is 2.18 times the UK share, and farming 7.2% of businesses.
Golf clubs, hotels and leisure venues are valued as trading businesses, so a lender will look at membership or occupancy figures as closely as the building. Construction, at 13.7% of firms, supplies a steadier stream of buyers for yards and small industrial units.
How do the A1 and the rail lines affect commercial property loans in the county of Haddington?
The A1 is dual carriageway right through East Lothian, with major junctions at Dunbar, Haddington, Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh, and the older A199 links Musselburgh, Wallyford, Tranent, Macmerry and Haddington before rejoining the A1 at West Barns. Rail is good for a rural county: eight stations, with Dunbar, Musselburgh and East Linton (opened in December 2023) on the East Coast Main Line and North Berwick, Drem, Longniddry, Prestonpans and Wallyford on the North Berwick Line.
For a buyer, a unit close to an A1 junction is usually easier for a valuer to compare and for a lender to picture being re-let if your business ever moved, and a shop near one of the stations benefits from commuter footfall. Neither guarantees a loan, but both help the valuation report that every lender relies on.
From Macmerry to Peffercraig: estates where local firms own units
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near East Lothian, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Brewery Park Business CentreHaddington EH41 3DD
- Roodlands Business ParkHaddington EH41 3PE
- Peffercraig Industrial Estate1 Aberlady Rd, Haddington EH41 3SG
- Peppercraig Industrial EstateHaddington EH41 3SG
- Haddington Retail ParkHaddington EH41 3EA
- Macmerry Industrial EstateTranent EH33 1RD
- Macmerry Business ParkTranent EH33 1RY
- Kingslaw Business ParkTranent EH33 1DY
- Vineyard Business CentreSaughland, Pathhead EH37 5XP
- Whin Park Industrial EstateCockenzie, Prestonpans EH32 9SF
- Heugh Industrial EstateNorth Berwick EH39 5PX
- Millbank Business ParkNorth Berwick EH39 5NB
What does an owner-occupier mortgage in the East Lothian council area cost up front?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower, and up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year over terms of 5 to 25 years, with arrangement fees usually 1 to 2%, subject to status, accounts and valuation.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax replaces stamp duty here. Revenue Scotland's non-residential bands charge 0% to £150,000, 1% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% on the part above £250,000 (rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy).
Illustrative example. An agricultural engineering company buys a workshop and yard near Haddington for £350,000. A 75% loan is £262,500, leaving a deposit of £87,500. LBTT on £350,000 is £6,000, so the business needs about £93,500 in cash before legal and valuation fees. The full bands are set out in our guide to stamp duty on commercial property.
Who handles planning, missives and security for business property finance in Haddingtonshire?
East Lothian Council is the planning authority for the whole county. Many buildings in Haddington, Dunbar and North Berwick are old and some will be listed or in conservation areas, so the lender's solicitor will check the planning and building history closely before funds are released.
The purchase follows Scots law. Your solicitor and the seller's exchange missives, which become binding once concluded, and the lender's security is a standard security registered with Registers of Scotland. Lending to a limited company for its trading premises 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. For other council areas see our business mortgages in Scotland page.
Commercial premises finance in East Lothian's towns
Musselburgh
The largest town in the county sits where the River Esk meets the Firth of Forth, right on the Edinburgh boundary and served by an East Coast Main Line station and the A1. Its high street shops, trade counters, hospitality businesses and small industrial units attract buyers who want Edinburgh access without city prices for their premises.
Haddington
The administrative centre and former county town lies inland on the River Tyne, with its own A1 junction and the A199 running through. As an old royal burgh it has a historic centre of shops and offices, and its rural hinterland feeds agricultural suppliers, engineers and food businesses looking for workshops and stores.
North Berwick
North Berwick is a royal burgh on the coast at the end of the North Berwick Line, with islands such as Fidra, Craigleith and the Bass Rock offshore. Hotels, restaurants, cafés and specialist shops dominate its business property, and lenders will look at how trading holds up outside the summer visitor season.
Dunbar
Dunbar is the third royal burgh, on the east coast near Belhaven Bay, with a station on the East Coast Main Line and a junction on the A1. The town supports hospitality, retail, trades and businesses serving the surrounding farmland, and buyers range from high-street shop owners to firms needing yards near the main road.
Tranent
Tranent is one of only two landlocked towns in East Lothian, sitting on the A199 with its own A1 junction close by. It grew as a mining town, and today its business premises are mainly local shops, small workshops and trade units, attractive to firms that want quick road access towards Edinburgh and the Borders.
Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton
These coastal settlements between Musselburgh and Longniddry have a fishing and industrial past and stations on the North Berwick Line. Owner-occupiers here buy shops, cafés, garages and modest industrial units, and a valuer will compare them with similar premises along the same stretch of coast.
