Orkney is an archipelago of about 70 islands, 20 of them inhabited, lying ten miles north of Caithness across the Pentland Firth. With Shetland it makes up the Northern Isles. The largest island, the Mainland, covers 523 square kilometres, and Kirkwall is both the largest settlement and the administrative centre. Orkney is one of Scotland's 32 council areas, governed by Orkney Islands Council.
We are a broker, not a lender. We arrange business mortgages for limited companies buying or refinancing the premises they trade from anywhere in Orkney, from a Kirkwall shop to a workshop on one of the North Isles. This is commercial finance secured on a trading company's own building, not a residential mortgage. We present the accounts and the property to the lenders whose criteria fit an island case.
What premises do Orcadian businesses buy with an owner-occupier mortgage?
Agriculture is by far the most important sector; a 2008 report put it at a quarter of the workforce, and 44% of Orkney businesses are in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Around 90% of the islands' milk goes into Orkney Cheddar. Traditional exports include beef, cheese, whisky, beer, fish and seafood, and there are three distilleries: Scapa, Highland Park and the Deerness Distillery, which opened in 2023. Growth has come in tourism, food and drink manufacturing, jewellery, knitwear and crafts, construction, and oil transportation through the Flotta terminal.
The business base is small-scale. As of 2020 there were around 1,500 businesses, more than 90% of them with fewer than ten staff. That means the typical purchase is modest: a workshop, a craft studio with a shop, a food production unit, a retail unit in Kirkwall or Stromness, or a hotel or guest house. Our owner-occupier mortgages page explains how lenders assess a small company buying its own building.
Fishing, farming and island suppliers from Kirkwall to Stromness
ONS UK Business Counts 2026, local units.
Show as a table
| Sector | Businesses | Orkney Islands share | UK share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farming, forestry and fishing | 640 | 36.3% | 4.5% |
| Construction and building trades | 155 | 8.8% | 12.6% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 110 | 6.2% | 13.8% |
| Retail | 95 | 5.4% | 9.3% |
| Transport, logistics and storage | 90 | 5.1% | 4.2% |
| Business support services | 80 | 4.5% | 8% |
| Health and social care | 70 | 4% | 5.7% |
| Manufacturing and engineering | 65 | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Restaurants, cafes and pubs | 55 | 3.1% | 6.2% |
- 43.9xfishing and aquaculture95 businesses
- 7.4xfarming545 businesses
- 2.8xwarehousing and logistics40 businesses
- 2.7xhotels and accommodation40 businesses
A figure of 2.0x means the trade makes up twice the share of local businesses that it does across the UK.
Farming, forestry and fishing accounts for 36.3% of Orkney's 1,780 business units, eight times the UK share, and fishing and aquaculture alone runs at 43.91 times. Warehousing and transport support businesses are 2.82 times as common as nationally, a sign of how much the islands rely on ferries, freight and storage.
With only 20 medium-sized firms and 5 large ones, most buyers are small, owner-run companies. Sales of commercial buildings are infrequent, so a valuer may lean on mainland evidence, and a lender may set the loan to value conservatively.
How do lenders treat a commercial property loan in the Orkney Isles?
Orkney's labour market is strong; in 2023, 89.8% of the population was economically active against 77.9% for Scotland, and unemployment averaged 1.6%. Visitor spending rose from £49.5 million in 2017 to £67.1 million in 2019, driven by sites such as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar. Those facts help a hospitality or retail case, but the lender still has to be satisfied about the building itself.
A valuer on an island has fewer comparable sales to work from, and will ask how easily the property could be sold or let to another business. Buildings in Kirkwall and Stromness, or with clear alternative uses, are the simplest. Transport links matter too: Kirkwall Airport has Loganair flights to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Sumburgh, and ferries run from Scrabster to Stromness, Aberdeen to Kirkwall, Lerwick to Kirkwall and Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope. Hotels and guest houses are trading businesses, at indicative rates of 7.0 to 9.0% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation; our business mortgages page explains the difference.
Hatston to Garson: estates where island firms own units
Named estates and parks listed on Google Maps near Orkney Islands, October 2026. Listed to show where premises trade locally; we have no connection with the owners or agents.
- Crowness Business ParkKW15, Kirkwall KW15 1ZL
- Warness Park Innovation CentreGrainshore Dr, Kirkwall KW15 1RE
- Warness Business ParkHatston, Pier Road, Kirkwall KW15 1ZL
- Hatston Retail & Business ParkKirkwall KW15 1GJ
- Hatston Industrial EstateKirkwall KW15 1RA
- Crowness Crescent Hatston Industrial EstateHatston, Kirkwall KW15 1GJ
- Cursiter Industrial EstateKirkwall KW15 1TT
- Garson Industrial EstateStromness KW16 3JU
- Cairston Road Industrial EstateStromness KW16 3JS
What does premises finance in Orkney cost, and how is it secured?
Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically advance 70 to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower, with up to 80% for strong cases; island property often sits at the lower end. Indicative owner-occupier pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year, subject to status, accounts and valuation, over 5 to 25 years with arrangement fees usually 1 to 2%.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applies, collected by Revenue Scotland: 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 jewellery maker buys a freehold workshop and showroom in Kirkwall for £200,000. A 75% loan is £150,000 and the deposit £50,000. LBTT is £500, so the company needs about £50,500 in cash plus fees. The commercial stamp duty guide sets out every band.
Orkney Islands Council is the planning authority. Missives form the contract 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 business mortgages in Scotland page covers the national rules.
Business property across Orkney
Kirkwall
Orkney's largest settlement and administrative centre, Kirkwall has the main airport, the Aberdeen and Lerwick ferries and most of the islands' shops, offices and professional services. Retailers, craft businesses, food producers and hospitality firms buy premises here, and the depth of the local market makes valuation simplest.
Stromness
Stromness, on the west of the Mainland, is the ferry port for Scrabster and one of only three settlements with more than 500 people. Its harbour-front streets hold shops, galleries, cafes and guest houses, much of it in older stone buildings that lenders will survey with care.
Finstown and the West Mainland
Finstown is the third settlement over 500 people, and the West Mainland around it, including Dounby, is close to the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae. Farm-related businesses, visitor attractions and small workshops make up the commercial property here.
St Margaret's Hope and South Ronaldsay
St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay receives the Pentland Ferries service from Gills Bay, and Burwick takes a seasonal passenger ferry from John o' Groats. Craft studios, hospitality businesses and food producers are typical buyers in this part of the islands.
Flotta
Flotta hosts the oil terminal, one of Orkney's few large private employers, and has its own council-run airfield. Commercial property here is limited, but contractors and service businesses supporting the terminal may need workshops and stores on Flotta or nearby on the Mainland.
Hoy, Lyness and Longhope
Hoy, with its high cliffs, scattered woodland and the Old Man of Hoy sea stack, draws visitors, and Lyness and Longhope are its main villages. Businesses here are small and tourism-led, and lenders will weigh access and seasonal trading carefully.
Westray and the North Isles
Pierowall is the main village on Westray, which is linked to Papa Westray by the world's shortest scheduled flight, timetabled at two minutes. Small food, craft and hospitality businesses buy premises here, often needing a lender comfortable with remote locations.
