Specialist business mortgage broker for companies across the City and County of Cardiff

The capital is the main finance and business services centre in Wales. Legal & General, Admiral Insurance, Principality Building Society, British Gas, BT and Brains are among the firms with large national or regional bases here, some in office towers such as Capital Tower and Brunel House. Around those employers sit thousands of smaller owner-managed firms: accountants, solicitors, dentists, IT and consultancy businesses, who often want a floor or a building of their own. Our page on professional practice mortgages covers how lenders view them.

Two other sectors shape demand. One in five Cardiff employees works in distribution, hotels and restaurants, and the city has almost 9,000 hotel beds, so cafés, restaurants, bars and small hotels are common purchases, usually priced as trading businesses at an indicative 7.0 to 9.0% a year. Cardiff is also a centre for television and film, with BBC Cymru Wales, S4C and ITV Wales studios and an independent production sector of over 600 companies that need edit suites, offices and stages.

At its peak the port area, Tiger Bay, was the world's most important coal port, and in 1907 the Coal Exchange hosted the first business deal for a million pounds sterling. After a period of decline, the docks began to grow again, with over 3 million tonnes of cargo passing through in 2007. Industrial and warehouse premises around the docks remain a core part of the city's owner-occupier market.

Cardiff Bay itself now holds the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, and work continues on the International Sports Village, the BBC drama village and a new business district. Newer buildings in regeneration areas are often easier for a valuer to assess, though the lender will still want a clean title and clear service charge arrangements on any building with shared areas.

Lenders active in owner-occupier lending typically lend 70 to 75% of the price or valuation, whichever is lower, with up to 80% for strong cases. Indicative pricing is 6.0 to 7.5% a year over 5 to 25 years, arrangement fees are usually 1 to 2%, and everything is subject to status, accounts and valuation.

Land Transaction Tax replaces SDLT here. Non-residential LTT runs at 0% to £225,000, 1% to £250,000, 5% to £1,000,000 and 6% above £1,000,000 (Welsh Revenue Authority, gov.wales; rates as at October 2026; check the current rates before you buy). Cardiff prices more often reach the 6% slice than valley premises do.

Illustrative example. An accountancy firm buys a freehold office building near the city centre for £750,000. A 75% loan is £562,500, leaving a £187,500 deposit. LTT is £25,250 (£250 at 1% plus £25,000 at 5%), so the firm needs about £212,750 before fees. Our commercial stamp duty guide compares the Welsh and English bands.

Cardiff Council, the authority for the City and County of Cardiff, decides planning applications. Changes of use are common in the centre, where upper floors become offices or studios and shops become restaurants, and a lender's solicitor will check the current use is lawful before funds are released.

Wales and England share one legal jurisdiction, so the security is a legal charge registered at HM Land Registry, usually alongside a debenture or directors' guarantee, and the LTT return is filed with the Welsh Revenue Authority within 30 days. 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. For the rest of the country, see our page on commercial mortgages in Wales.