Commercial Property Finance
Commercial mortgages, investment finance and semi-commercial lending arranged for owner-occupiers, landlords and portfolio investors.
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Last updated Reviewed by our Clifton International finance team.
In short
UK commercial property finance funds offices, retail, industrial and mixed-use assets, typically at up to 75% loan-to-value over five to thirty years. Lenders assess rental income, tenant covenant strength and debt-service cover rather than relying primarily on the borrower's personal income.
Reviewed by James Caldwell, Director, Clifton International.
Content review: — guidance, worked examples and FAQs on this page.
Rate review: September 2026— indicative pricing and key figures on this page.
At a glance
Figures reviewed:
Indicative figures for guidance only, correct as at October 2026. Rates, costs and timelines vary by lender, borrower profile, asset and jurisdiction, and are not an offer of finance. How we derive these figures.
Last reviewed . Read the full Key facts methodology, or speak to our team for a quote based on your circumstances.
Compare owner-occupied, investment and semi-commercial payment scenarios. The dedicated tool uses the illustrative rate ranges above, or your own hypothetical rate; the worked examples below retain their separate illustrative assumptions.
Worked examples
Two illustrative cases using the indicative figures on this page — 6.0%–8.5% pricing (mid-point 7.25%), up to 75% loan-to-value for owner-occupiers and 70% for investment, and a 1.25x minimum cover ratio.
A trading company buys its £1,800,000 office with a 70% loan-to-value commercial mortgage, amortising over 20 years at an illustrative 7.25%.
An investor buys a £2,500,000 let commercial asset producing £175,000 net rent a year, interest-only at an illustrative 7.25%.
Illustrative only and not an offer of finance. Both examples use the mid-point of the indicative range on this page. The rate a lender offers comes down to the loan size and the risk profile of the business, so the rate, leverage and structure on any individual case also depend on the asset, tenant covenant, lease term and borrower profile.
Debt-service cover — United Kingdom
Commercial facilities are sized on debt-service cover ratio (DSCR) — net rental income divided by annual debt service — and then capped by loan-to-value. Enter the asset's figures to see which of the two constraints sets the facility.
Indicative maximum facility
£1,875,000
Set by the 75% loan-to-value cap — cover would support more debt.
Illustrative only and not an offer of finance. Defaults use an indicative all-in rate of 7.25% — the mid-point of the 6.0%–8.5% indicative range above — and a 1.25x minimum cover ratio. Lenders test cover at a stressed rate and may apply sector-specific minimums.
Some assets need sector-specific underwriting rather than a standard commercial assessment. We arrange finance for specialist UK sectors with lenders that understand how they trade.
Occupancy history, CQC ratings, fee mix and operator experience all shape the terms. See how care home finance is assessed and what lenders look for.
GP surgeries, dental and pharmacy practices and clinics — up to 80% LTV for established healthcare practices, and in some cases higher for GP surgeries.
Why clients choose us
Mortgages for trading businesses purchasing their own commercial premises.
Facilities against single-let, multi-let and mixed-tenancy investment assets.
Mixed residential and commercial units — often difficult to place with mainstream lenders.
Consolidate a commercial or mixed portfolio into a single structured facility.
Hotels, healthcare, care homes, HMOs, holiday lets and hospitality.
Direct relationships with challenger banks, specialist lenders and private funders.
Borrower eligibility
Typical lending criteria
Indicative only. Actual terms depend on borrower profile, asset and lender criteria.
Recent transactions
Published transactions from our own case study library — select any to read the full brief.
Birmingham · Canada-based expat
Reported £1.5m capital raised · £2.4m portfolio · share purchase
Clifton Private Finance’s March 2022 account reports £1.5m capital raised for a British national spending most of his time in Canada, buying shares in a company holding a Birmingham portfolio of shops, offices and retail showrooms valued at £2.4m.
London · Multi-site healthcare
£2m commercial mortgage · 15-year term · single charge on the London property
Clifton Private Finance’s January 2025 account reports a £2m owner-occupied commercial mortgage refinancing for a healthcare business operating from multiple UK sites: existing portfolio debt was consolidated into a single facility secured on the London property, leaving two offices unencumbered.
Midlands · Portfolio
£4m · 70% LTV · 5-year fixed
£4m portfolio refinance for a Midlands property investment group — improving margin, releasing capital and consolidating multiple facilities into a single lender relationship.
Frequently asked
Yes. We arrange owner-occupier commercial mortgages for trading businesses buying their own UK premises, including via SIPP/SSAS pension structures where appropriate.
Offices, retail, industrial and logistics units, hotels, healthcare, care homes, student accommodation, HMOs, semi-commercial and multi-let investment property.
Typically up to 75% LTV for owner-occupied and up to 70% for investment, depending on tenant covenant strength, unexpired lease term, sector and borrower profile.
Yes — mixed residential-and-commercial units (e.g. shop with flats above) are a routine case and often benefit from more favourable pricing than pure commercial deals.
Yes. We work with specialist and challenger banks that lend to British expatriates, foreign nationals and offshore SPVs acquiring UK commercial investment stock.
From around £250,000 up to £25m+ per facility, including portfolio and refinance transactions and structured senior/mezzanine stacks.
Both are available. Investment deals are commonly interest-only over a 5–10 year term; owner-occupier facilities are often part-and-part or fully amortising over 15–25 years.
DSCR is net operating income divided by annual debt service. Take gross rent, deduct non-recoverable costs such as management, insurance, business rates and a maintenance allowance to get net operating income, then divide by the interest and capital payable over twelve months. Net income of £260,000 against debt service of £200,000 gives a DSCR of 1.30x.
A minimum of 1.25x on standard investment stock is the usual test. Hotels, leisure and other trading assets are typically held to 1.40x–1.50x because income is operational rather than contracted, while long-let assets with an institutional covenant can be accepted closer to 1.20x.
Lenders test at a stressed rate, not the pay rate. On a floating facility priced at around 7.25% all-in, expect a stress of one to two points above that, or a floor rate set by the credit committee. Hedging the loan with a cap or swap usually allows the test to be run closer to the hedged rate.
Whichever is lower. The lender sizes the debt that net income can service at the minimum cover ratio, then caps that figure at the loan-to-value limit. On a high-yielding asset the LTV cap usually binds; on a prime, low-yielding asset cover binds and the resulting leverage sits well below the headline LTV.
Signed leases with unexpired terms, a tenancy schedule, the last two to three years of certified accounts or trading figures for operational assets, a current rent roll, evidence of arrears, and a service-charge and non-recoverable cost breakdown. A RICS-equivalent valuation confirms the market rent underpinning the calculation.
Comparing countries
Many of our clients hold commercial property in both Spain and the UK, or are deciding between the two markets. Our commercial finance hub sets out loan-to-value, facility sizes and terms side by side before you enquire.
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