Commercial Mortgages for Healthcare Premises
By Joshua Giles, Founder and Director · Reviewed by the CoreFi credit team
Last updated 20 July 2026
CoreFi is a broker, not a lender. We do not set rates and lenders make all credit decisions.
In short: £100k - £10M over 15 - 25 years. Healthcare property does not underwrite like a generic commercial mortgage, and the lenders who do it well already know that.
Healthcare property does not underwrite like a generic commercial mortgage, and the lenders who do it well already know that. A dental practice, GP surgery, pharmacy, or veterinary clinic sits in premises built or fitted for one purpose. That specificity cuts two ways. It shrinks the resale pool, which some lenders treat as a reason to decline, but it also binds the occupier to the building far harder than a swap-out office tenant. Vacancy risk is low, covenant strength is high, and the lenders who understand the sector price on those facts rather than shying away from them.\n\nThe mechanic is a first-charge commercial mortgage secured against the practice premises, usually up to 70% LTV on an owner-occupied basis, with the practice's own EBITDA (or NHS contract income, for GP surgeries) used to satisfy the debt service coverage ratio. NHS GMS or PMS contract income gets treated almost like annuity income by lenders who know what they are looking at, and that can lift the LTV ceiling or sharpen the rate.\n\nBuy through a SSAS or SIPP and the structure changes. The pension scheme takes title, the practice pays market-rate rent to the scheme, and the mortgage sits inside the pension wrapper. It is a legitimate, well-trodden route for healthcare professionals, but it needs a pension trustee and a solicitor who has run one before. We can connect you with both.\n\nHere is the straight version: no broker can promise a rate or an LTV before a lender has read your accounts and valued the property. What we can tell you is which lenders are genuinely active in healthcare right now, and which of them have appetite for your specific situation.
Key Benefits
- GP surgeries with NHS GMS or PMS contracts read as near-annuity income to lenders who know primary care, which supports LTVs that non-NHS commercial property does not get
- SSAS & SIPP purchase routes let the practice pay rent to your own pension scheme, so the mortgage interest, the rent, and the property growth all work inside a tax-efficient wrapper
- Healthcare covenants get priced more keenly than generic commercial because vacancy rates are structurally low, and the active lenders underwrite on that
- Fit-out and refurbishment costs can sometimes fold into the facility where the works demonstrably add to the surveyed value, sparing you a separate loan on top of the mortgage
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy my practice through a SIPP or SSAS?
Yes, and it is one of the more tax-efficient moves a healthcare professional can make. The pension scheme buys the property, the practice pays market-rate rent to the scheme, and the property grows inside a tax-advantaged wrapper. The mortgage sits within the scheme. You will need a pension trustee and a solicitor experienced in commercial property SSAS purchases; we can point you to both. The LTV requirements and the lender list differ from a standard owner-occupier mortgage, so it pays to be clear from the outset which route you are taking.
What about NHS GMS or PMS contracts?
NHS contract income reads very differently from private income to lenders who understand primary care. It is stable, long-term, and largely insulated from economic cycles. Lenders active in GP surgery finance use it as a core part of their DSCR assessment, and it can support a higher LTV or a better rate than equivalent private clinic income. If your surgery is NHS-contract-backed, make that the first thing any lender sees.
Is a deposit always required?
For an owner-occupied purchase, expect to put in 25 to 40% of the purchase price as a minimum. Some lenders will go to 70% LTV for healthcare professionals with demonstrably strong income. SSAS or SIPP purchases can have different requirements depending on scheme rules and the lender. No broker can commit to an LTV before a lender has read your accounts and instructed a surveyor.
Can I include fit-out costs in the mortgage?
Some lenders will fold fit-out and refurbishment costs into the facility, but only where the surveyor confirms the works add to the open-market value of the property. Where the fit-out is highly specialist (imaging equipment vaults, for example) and cuts the property's general marketability, lenders will not always capitalise it. Worth raising early, before you agree a purchase price that assumes the lender will fund the works.
Work out your numbers
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Get matched with lendersCoreFi is a trading name of JG Core Ltd (Company #16218779, England & Wales). CoreFi acts as a commercial finance broker and does not provide regulated financial advice. All products described are unregulated business-to-business finance. Information on this page is for general guidance only and does not constitute a formal offer of finance. Terms, rates, and availability are subject to lender criteria and may change without notice.