Commercial Mortgages in Belfast
CoreFi arranges commercial mortgages for Belfast businesses and investors, typically limited companies buying or refinancing their own trading premises or an investment property across offices, industrial, retail and mixed-use. We match your case to lenders who fund Northern Ireland. Rates, loan-to-value and terms are indicative and depend on the property, the income and lender appetite.
A commercial mortgage is a longer-term loan secured against business property, used to buy or refinance premises. It splits into two broad cases. An owner-occupier mortgage funds the building your own business trades from, such as an office in the city centre, a unit on the Harbour Estate or a workshop in Mallusk. An investment mortgage funds property you let to tenants, priced against the rental income it produces. Both are common across Belfast's commercial-property market, which runs from the office stock around Bedford Street, Chichester Street and the Gasworks, through industrial and warehouse space along the Boucher Road, the Harbour Estate and out to Newtownabbey and Nutts Corner, to retail on Royal Avenue and the arterial roads, and mixed-use conversions in the Cathedral Quarter and Titanic Quarter.
CoreFi is a commercial finance broker that arranges commercial mortgages for businesses and investors across Belfast and the wider Northern Ireland market, principally limited companies and special-purpose vehicles. We do not lend ourselves and we do not set the rate. We understand the property and the income behind it, package the case properly, and approach the lenders whose criteria and appetite fit. Any rates, loan-to-value figures or timelines mentioned on this page are indicative and illustrative only; what you are offered depends on your case and on individual lender appetite.
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Tell us about the property and the plan
Share the property, whether it is for your own business to occupy or to let as an investment, roughly what you need, and the trading figures or the rent. It costs nothing to start.
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We match you to commercial-mortgage lenders
We identify lenders on our panel whose appetite fits the property type, the loan-to-value, whether it is owner-occupier or investment, and Northern Ireland, and package the case so it is assessed properly the first time.
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Review terms and proceed
Interested lenders come back with indicative rates and loan-to-value. Any figure is illustrative until formally offered. You decide, and we help manage the mortgage through to completion.
Owner-occupier and investment mortgages
The two cases are underwritten differently. On an owner-occupier mortgage, where you buy the premises your business trades from, the lender leans heavily on your business's trading performance and its ability to service the loan out of profits, alongside the value of the building. Owning rather than renting can suit an established Belfast firm that wants to control its premises and stop paying a landlord, whether that is a professional services practice in the city centre or a manufacturer consolidating onto one site on the Harbour Estate. On an investment mortgage, where you let the property to tenants, the lender focuses on the rental income and the debt service cover it provides, the strength and length of the leases, and the quality of the tenants. Both are longer-term facilities, often over 15 to 25 years, and both are sized against a loan-to-value figure set case by case. We avoid quoting fixed rates or loan-to-value up front because they depend on the property, the income and the borrower.
The Belfast commercial-property market
Belfast's commercial stock is varied, and lenders read the segments differently. Offices concentrate around Bedford Street, Chichester Street, the Gasworks and the emerging space in the Titanic Quarter, where demand from technology, fintech, cyber and professional services firms has shaped the market. Industrial and warehouse space runs along the Boucher Road, across the Harbour Estate and out through Newtownabbey, Mallusk and Nutts Corner, serving the city's manufacturing, engineering, logistics and wholesale base. Retail sits on Royal Avenue, the city-centre core and the arterial roads such as the Lisburn Road and Ormeau Road, a segment lenders scrutinise more carefully given wider high-street pressures. Mixed-use is increasingly common in the Cathedral Quarter and the regeneration zones, combining ground-floor commercial with residential above. Each segment carries a different appetite, and a Northern Ireland property adds a further layer, since some lenders treat the region as a distinct market. Matching the property type and location to the right funder is a large part of the job.
What lenders look at, and why bring it to CoreFi
On a commercial mortgage, lenders underwrite the property and the income together. For an owner-occupier case they test the business's trading history, profitability and the affordability of the payments; for an investment case they test the rent, the debt service cover, the leases and the tenant quality; and in both they assess the property, its value and its saleability, and the loan-to-value being asked. Property type and condition matter, as does the borrower's experience with investment cases. Belfast adds a regional dimension, because not every commercial-mortgage lender is equally active in Northern Ireland and some price it differently from Great Britain. The market itself is broad, spanning high-street banks, challenger banks and specialist commercial lenders, each with its own stance on segment, region, loan-to-value and lease profile. We hold that appetite detail across our whole-of-market panel, focus your case on the lenders most likely to fund it well, and package the trading figures or the rent roll the way they expect to see them. We cannot promise a rate, a loan-to-value or an approval, because those sit with the lender, but we can match the case well and present it clearly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an owner-occupier and an investment commercial mortgage?
An owner-occupier mortgage funds premises your own business trades from, and the lender leans on your trading performance. An investment mortgage funds property you let to tenants, and the lender focuses on the rent and the leases. We help you present whichever case fits your situation.
What kinds of Belfast property can be mortgaged this way?
Offices, industrial and warehouse units, retail premises and mixed-use buildings across the city centre, the Harbour Estate, the Boucher Road, the arterial roads and the wider Greater Belfast area. The lender confirms whether it funds your specific property type and location.
How much of the value can a commercial mortgage cover?
It varies by property type, whether it is owner-occupier or investment, and the strength of the trading figures or the rent, and it is expressed as loan-to-value set case by case. Any figures we discuss are indicative until a lender formally offers. The lender sets the loan-to-value.
Does the Northern Ireland market affect who will lend?
It can. Some commercial-mortgage lenders are less active in Northern Ireland or price it differently from Great Britain. Part of our job is to focus your case on funders who genuinely support the region. The lender still confirms its own appetite.
Do you lend the mortgage funds yourselves?
No. We are a commercial finance broker, not a lender. We package and place the case, but whether it is funded, and at what rate and loan-to-value, is entirely the lender's decision and depends on the property and the income.
Get matched with lenders for your Belfast business
Tell us what your business needs and we will match you with lenders whose criteria fit. No obligation, no cost to start the conversation, and a straight answer about what is realistic for your situation.
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