Moray lies in the north-east of Scotland with a coastline on the Moray Firth, bordered by Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the largest town, and most people live on the northern coastal plain; the south is mountainous and sparsely populated, taking in part of the Cairngorms National Park. The area was a district of Grampian Region from 1975 and became a single-tier council area in 1996.
We are a broker and never a lender. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies buying or refinancing the premises they trade from anywhere in Moray. This is commercial finance secured on a trading company's own building, not a residential mortgage. We set out your accounts and the property clearly, then take the case to the lenders whose criteria fit.
Why does food and drink dominate premises finance in Moray, Scotland?
Wikipedia's figures, from 2003, show how much the area leans on food and drink: distilling, canned food and biscuit manufacturing made up 19% of Moray's gross value added, against 3% for Scotland as a whole, and Moray accounted for 9% of Scotland's entire food and drink output. The area also had a larger than average share of tourism, forest products, textiles and specialised metal working, and the public sector was prominent, with RAF personnel excluded from the employment counts.
That shows up in the premises local firms buy. Suppliers and contractors to the distilleries need workshops and storage. Food producers want processing units. Hotels, guest houses and visitor attractions serve the tourism trade, and timber and engineering businesses look for yards. Trading businesses such as hotels are priced differently from a plain workshop: indicative rates are 7.0 to 9.0% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Our business mortgages page explains how lenders separate the two.
Whisky, fishing and timber: what Moray makes
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Moray share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 630 | 16% | 4.5% |
| Construction and building trades | 510 | 12.9% | 12.5% |
| Retail | 350 | 8.9% | 9.4% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 335 | 8.5% | 13.9% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 255 | 6.5% | 4.3% |
| Business support services | 255 | 6.5% | 8.1% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 250 | 6.3% | 6.2% |
| Health and social care | 225 | 5.7% | 5.6% |
| Motor trade and vehicle repair | 160 | 4.1% | 3% |
- 19.9xdrinks manufacturing and brewing70 businesses
- 17.6xfishing and aquaculture85 businesses
- 8.6xforestry55 businesses
- 3.0xfarming490 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Beverage manufacturing runs at 19.94 times the UK share in Moray, with 70 firms, and fishing and aquaculture at 17.58 times. Manufacturing and engineering overall makes up 6.5% of businesses against 4.3% nationally, and the motor trade 4.1% against 3%.
Distilleries, bonded warehouses and cooperages are specialist buildings, and a lender will value them with the trading business firmly in view. Engineering firms that service the distilleries are a different case: their workshops are standard units with plenty of comparable evidence, priced as ordinary owner-occupier loans.
How do small firms in the Moray council area qualify for an owner-occupier mortgage?
Moray is a small-business economy. In 2004 there were around 2,500 VAT-registered businesses, 75% of them employing fewer than five people and about half turning over less than £100,000; in 2026 the Moray Business Enterprise Hub put the number of small and medium-sized enterprises at over 3,000. Many smaller firms trade into Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Highland.
A smaller company can still borrow against its own building. Lenders want to see two or three years of accounts showing the business can cover the repayments with room to spare, a deposit from the company's own resources, and directors willing to give a personal guarantee. A family firm that has rented the same unit for years and wants to buy it from the landlord is often a strong case, because the trading history at that address is already proven. See our owner-occupier mortgages page for the detail.
Newmill and Steven Road: estates where Moray firms own units
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Moray, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Newmill Industrial EstateKeith AB55 5GB
- Steven Road Industrial EstateHuntly AB54 8SX
What does a commercial property loan in Moray cost, and how is it secured?
Lenders typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower, and up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative owner-occupier pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation, with terms of 5 to 25 years and arrangement fees usually 1 to 2%.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applies. Revenue Scotland's non-residential slices are 0% 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 food producer buys a freehold processing unit near Elgin for £450,000. A 75% loan is £337,500, leaving a £112,500 deposit. LBTT is £11,000, so the company needs around £123,500 in cash before fees. The stamp duty on commercial property guide shows the bands in full.
The Moray Council is the planning authority. The contract is concluded by missives under Scots law, and the lender takes a standard security registered with Registers 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. The Scotland business mortgages page covers the national rules.
Business property finance across Moray
Elgin
Moray's administrative and commercial centre, and home to a quarter of the area's population at the 2011 census. Elgin sits on the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness, and the Glen Moray, Miltonduff and BenRiach distilleries are all within six miles. Shops, offices, trade counters and food businesses make up most of the premises bought here.
Forres
Forres lies west of Elgin on the road towards Inverness and forms part of the local triangle of towns that has long relied on the RAF for civilian employment. Its high street suits independent retailers and professional practices, while trades and small manufacturers look for units on the edge of town.
Lossiemouth
A coastal town north of Elgin, connected by the A941, Lossiemouth is home to RAF Lossiemouth, which survived the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The base supports local spending, and hospitality, retail and service firms here often buy their own premises to serve both residents and visitors to the coast.
Kinloss
RAF Kinloss closed in 2010 and has become an army base, a change that had a significant effect on local employment. Businesses in and around Kinloss tend to be small service and trade firms, where a modest owner-occupier loan on a workshop or shop unit is the usual request.
Rothes and Craigellachie
South of Elgin along the A941, Rothes and Craigellachie sit in Speyside's whisky country. Distilling and the trades that support it, from engineering to haulage, shape the commercial property here, alongside hotels and visitor businesses catering for those who come for the distilleries and the river.
Dufftown
Further along the A941, Dufftown is another Speyside distilling centre. Its commercial base is small and visitor-focused, with hotels, cafes and specialist shops that depend on the whisky trail. Lenders will want to understand how seasonal trading is when assessing a hospitality purchase here.
