Plain-English guides to hospitality property finance
Straight answers on buying, valuing and financing hotels, restaurants, pubs and every trading hospitality asset, from a specialist arranger.
Straight answers to the questions operators, investors and owner-occupiers ask before they buy, refinance or develop a hospitality business. Written by Matt Lenzie, who has arranged more than £500 million of property and trading-business finance over 25 years. This is unregulated commercial finance for trading hospitality property, valued as a going concern on its fair maintainable trade, arranged for businesses and experienced borrowers rather than a regulated mortgage on a home.
What is a commercial mortgage, and how does it work in hospitality?
A commercial mortgage is the loan that buys or refinances business premises. This guide explains what one is, how it differs from a residential mortgage, and why a hotel or pub is underwritten on its trade, not just its bricks and mortar.
Read the guide → Commercial mortgagesHow much deposit do you really need for a commercial mortgage?
The deposit is the first question every buyer asks. This guide sets out the real ranges for a commercial mortgage, why a trading hotel or pub usually needs more than a simple let investment, and the levers that reduce the cash you put in.
Read the guide → Commercial mortgagesCommercial mortgage rates for hospitality, and what actually drives them
There is no single commercial mortgage rate. This guide explains how the price is actually built, why a trading hospitality asset is priced differently from a let investment, and the levers that move your margin.
Read the guide → Buying a businessHow to buy a hotel: the process, the numbers and the funding
Buying a hotel is buying a business and a building at once. This guide walks the whole process, from finding the right asset and reading the accounts to the going-concern valuation, the deposit and how the purchase is funded.
Read the guide → Buying a businessHow to buy a pub: freehold, leasehold or tied, and how to fund it
Buying a pub means choosing a route, freehold, leasehold or tied, then buying a trade that is valued on what a competent operator could earn. This guide covers the options, the valuation, the licensing and the funding.
Read the guide → Buying a businessHow to buy a guest house, and how the finance is regulated
A guest house is often a home and a business under one roof, which changes how it is financed and whether the mortgage is regulated. This guide covers the process, the valuation and the crucial owner-occupier point.
Read the guide → Buying a businessHow to finance a restaurant: freehold, leasehold and fit-out
Most restaurants are leasehold, so the finance looks different from a hotel or pub. This guide sets out how to fund a restaurant, from the freehold mortgage route to the leasehold, fit-out and working-capital stack.
Read the guide → ValuationHotel valuation explained: the profits method and what really drives value
A hotel is valued as a trading business, not a building. This guide explains the profits method that lenders and valuers actually use, how it is built from fair maintainable trade, and what moves the number.
Read the guide → ValuationGoing concern valuation explained, and why hospitality lives by it
A going concern valuation values a business as a living, trading whole, not as bricks or bits to be sold off. This guide defines it, shows how it differs from market and liquidation value, and explains why every hospitality loan turns on it.
Read the guide → ValuationFair maintainable trade explained: the number your whole deal turns on
Fair maintainable trade is the single concept a hospitality valuation is built on. This guide explains what it means, why it is not the current owner's accounts, and how it drives the value and the loan.
Read the guide → OwnershipFreehold vs leasehold in hospitality, and what it means for your finance
Freehold or leasehold is the first thing that decides how a hospitality property is financed. This guide explains the difference, the trade-offs, and why lease length can make or break a loan.
Read the guide → Finance productsHoliday let mortgages explained: how much you can borrow and on what terms
A holiday let mortgage is a specialist product assessed on what the property will earn from short-term lets, not on your salary. This guide explains how much you can borrow, the deposit you need, and how the lending actually works.
Read the guide → Finance productsServiced accommodation and Airbnb finance: how to fund a short-let business
Running a property as serviced accommodation or on Airbnb is a business, and it needs the right finance. This guide explains why a residential mortgage will not do, the specialist and commercial routes, and the rules that shape the lending.
Read the guide → Finance productsBridging loans for hospitality: what they are, and when they earn their cost
A bridging loan is fast, short-term, secured finance for a gap. This guide explains what one is, when it earns its higher cost in hospitality, and why the exit matters more than anything else.
Read the guide →Buying or refinancing a hospitality business?
Send us the business and the trade and we will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms within one working day.