The two most common type of mortgages in the Commercial space are Business mortgages and Commercial investment mortgages.

Business Mortgage (also known as owner-occupier mortgage)

This is the mortgage you require if you are looking for a mortgage to purchase business-related premises. Correspondingly, if you already own your business premises and are looking to switch lender and refinance the property, you will need a business remortgage (also known as an owner-occupier remortgage).

Commercial Investment Mortgage

If you are looking to invest in non-residential property to rent out to other businesses, you will need a commercial investment mortgage. If you already own a commercial property for investment purposes and are looking to refinance it, you will need a commercial investment remortgage.

With regards to lending criteria, although some lenders may still accept businesses with an adverse credit history, it helps if you can show a clean credit record, as this will give you greater choice and a more competitive deal. Lenders will apply a loan to value ratio to the mortgage and will often require you to invest some of your own money into the property. The more of your own money you invest, the more chance you will have of securing the mortgage. The lender will also want information about your business and will be looking to see if it is profitable. They may request your business accounts and projections to check that the business has longevity and is not under any immediate financial pressures.

Development Finance

Development finance is a solution when substantial work needs to be done on a commercial property or the site on which it stands - repairs for instance.

This form of lending is low-risk and relatively low-cost lending type since the property itself is taken as collateral. Repayment periods also typically last longer than short-term lending.

As a minimum, lenders will request full details of the proposed development and changes, such as the proposed contractor, build programme and satisfactory exit route.

Commercial Finance is not regulated by the FCA.