Specialist commercial mortgage broker for business premises in Wales

Land Transaction Tax (LTT) replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales from 1 April 2018, the first Welsh tax in almost 800 years. It applies to commercial purchases and commercial leases under the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017, and the Welsh Revenue Authority collects it.

Non-residential LTT is charged in slices. Source: Welsh Revenue Authority (gov.wales, Land Transaction Tax rates and bands). Rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy.

Illustrative example. On a £500,000 freehold unit with no VAT, LTT is £12,750, against £14,500 of SDLT in England and £13,500 of LBTT in Scotland. The £225,000 nil-rate band makes smaller business premises cheaper to buy in Wales, while the 6% slice above £1,000,000 means a larger site can cost more. The return and payment are due within 30 days, beginning with the day after the effective date. Lenders do not fund the tax, so budget for it in cash with the deposit. Our guide to stamp duty on commercial property sets all four nations side by side.

Wales has its own legislature, the Senedd, and its own taxes, but it remains part of the single England and Wales legal jurisdiction. For a business buying premises, that means:

• Conveyancing follows English practice: exchange of contracts, then completion.
• Security for the commercial mortgage is a legal charge over the property, the same form a lender takes in England.
• Registration is with HM Land Registry, which registers land in England and Wales and supports the Welsh Revenue Authority on LTT.

So any solicitor qualified in England and Wales can act, and lenders that lend in England treat Welsh security the same way. The difference sits only in the tax return your solicitor files after completion.

Wales moved from an agricultural economy to an industrial one and then a post-industrial one. Cardiff was once the largest coal-exporting port in the world, and coal dominated from the mid 19th century until the post-war era. Today the public sector, light industry, service businesses and tourism play major roles, and the Royal Mint has been based at a single site in Llantrisant since 1980.

Two-thirds of the population live in South Wales, so most commercial property demand sits along the M4 through Newport, Cardiff and Swansea and up the valleys. In the north, the A55 links Holyhead and Bangor with Wrexham and Flintshire. The owner-occupied premises we see financed include:

• light industrial and manufacturing units on estates along the M4 and A55 corridors
• workshops, trade counters and warehouses
• offices and professional practices, such as dentists, vets and accountants
• hotels, pubs, guest houses and other tourism businesses on the coast and in the national parks, priced as trading businesses at typically 7.0 to 9.0% a year, indicative
• high-street shops with a flat above, covered on our page on semi-commercial premises

For an owner-occupied business mortgage, the usual terms are:

• Loan to value: typically 70 to 75%, up to 80% for strong cases, so a deposit of 25 to 30%.
• Indicative rates: 6.0 to 7.5% a year, indicative, subject to status, accounts and valuation. Commercial remortgage rates run 6.0 to 8.0% a year.
• Term: 5 to 25 years, some to 30.
• Fees: arrangement fees typically 1 to 2%, plus valuation and legal fees.

How much you can borrow depends on affordability. Before you apply, a bank or specialist lender will look first at whether the business's profit covers the loan repayments, then at the owners' credit history and the property as security. Our commercial mortgage calculator shows the repayments on the loan you have in mind, and the deposit and fees need funding from the business's own cash. Businesses that already own their premises can refinance to release equity or change lender. Where speed matters, for example buying at auction, short-term bridging finance at 0.70 to 0.95% a month, indicative, up to 70 to 75% gross loan to value, can complete the purchase before a term loan replaces it.

Our work is financing owner-occupied business premises, not investment property, buy-to-let or property development loans. We read the accounts, the property and the timetable, compare the commercial mortgage products available from high-street banks and specialist lenders whose criteria fit, and prepare the application for credit. We then keep the lender, the valuer and your solicitor moving towards completion. If you are weighing premises on both sides of the border, our page on business mortgages in England covers the SDLT side.

Commercial lending to a limited company is unregulated and falls outside the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) 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. We are not tax or legal advisers, so your solicitor confirms the LTT due.