Commercial Investment Mortgage Bournemouth
Long-term mortgages secured against income-producing commercial property: Westover Road retail in BH1, Lansdowne office investment adjacent to the JPMorgan Chase Littledown campus, Boscombe Spa Village regen stock in BH5, the Citrus Building / Avenue Road central mixed-use, and Christchurch High Street fringe retail. Loan-to-value 60 to 75%, interest cover ratio 140 to 160% stressed, interest rates 6.5 to 8.5% pa, 5 to 25 year repayment terms. Limited company SPV, LLP and individual structures all supported.
LTV
60 to 75%
Rate
From 6.5% pa
Term
5 to 25 years
ICR
140 to 160%
What is an investment commercial mortgage and how is it underwritten?
A commercial investment mortgage is long-term debt secured against a let commercial property held as an income-producing asset. The borrower is typically a limited company SPV (the dominant structure for new acquisitions across the BCP catchment), an LLP, or an individual investor; the security is the property; the affordability test is rent against the cost of borrowing. Unlike a residential buy-to-let mortgage, which tests personal income and rental yield against ASTs, commercial investment underwrites against business tenancies on FRI (full repairing and insuring) leases.
The headline underwriting metric is the interest cover ratio (ICR): gross rent divided by interest cost, typically required at 140 to 160% stressed at a notional rate 1 to 2% above pay rate. Some lenders also test DSCR (debt-service coverage ratio) on a fully-amortising basis at 130 to 145% cover. Loan-to-value commonly stretches to 60 to 75% for income-producing Bournemouth assets with a clear lease; lenders can trend conservative on BCP LTVs where the asset is concentrated retail given the cyclical risk profile, with prime Lansdowne office and central Westover Road investment stock pricing more keenly.
Tenant covenant and lease length are the second-order drivers, and they matter as much as LTV. A 10-year unbroken lease to an investment-grade office tenant on Lansdowne or a national-brand retailer on Westover Road prices materially better than three two-year leases to local independents on a secondary Charminster Road or Boscombe Christchurch Road parade. Vacant or part-let assets fund through specialist desks at tighter LTVs and wider interest rates, typically via commercial bridge-to-let with an agreed term-out exit. Bournemouth deal flow is biased toward central retail and mixed-use, the Lansdowne professional-services office stream, the Boscombe Spa Village regenerating retail-and-leisure cluster on Sea Road and Christchurch Road, the Citrus Building and wider Avenue Road / Winter Gardens central mixed-use, and the Christchurch High Street fringe; industrial investment runs through the Aviation Park corridor at Bournemouth Airport in Hurn (BH23).
Investment commercial lending sits outside FCA regulation in almost all cases: it is a business borrowing against a business asset, not a residential mortgage. Stamp duty land tax applies on purchase at the standard commercial rates (0% to £150K, 2% £150K to £250K, 5% above £250K). For limited company SPV structures we factor SDLT, valuation, legal and arrangement fees into the all-in deposit requirement before submission. Indicative case seed: a £2.2M let Lansdowne Grade B office investment in BH1, FRI lease, 9 years unbroken, strong-covenant professional services tenant operating in the JPMorgan Chase Littledown employment shed, priced at 65% LTV (£1.43M facility) on a 5-year fix at around 6.9% pa with ICR comfortably above 150%.
Pricing and lender appetite across the Bournemouth investment market
1. Asset and rent appraisal
We review the property, the lease, the tenant covenant and the rent roll. ICR and DSCR modelled at three lender stress rates so you see where each desk will land.
2. Indicative terms in 48 hours
Three to five lender quotes covering interest rate, LTV, term, fees, ICR comfort and conditions. You pick the preferred route.
3. Credit pack
Property file, lease, tenant accounts (where covenant matters), borrower SPV pack, deposit proof. Sent to chosen lender.
4. RICS Red Book valuation
Includes market rent assessment and estimated rental value (ERV), both important to the underwrite. Typically 2 to 3 weeks; Westover Road listed-building instructions and Citrus Building / Winter Gardens phased-delivery cases take longer.
5. Credit approval and legal pack
Approval typically 1 to 3 weeks post-valuation. Legals 3 to 5 weeks (longer if leasehold or complex tenant pack).
6. Drawdown and SDLT
Funds drawn at completion. Stamp duty paid by buyer. ICR sometimes monitored through life of facility on larger or multi-let assets.
Investor profiles we routinely place across Bournemouth
- Westover Road retail investors picking up national-brand units across the central BH1 / BH2 retail spine
- Lansdowne office investment buyers in BH1 acquiring Grade B and refurbished office stock adjacent to the JPMorgan Chase Littledown campus
- Boscombe Spa Village regen investors holding mixed-use retail-and-leisure stock along Sea Road and Christchurch Road in BH5
- Citrus Building, Winter Gardens and wider Avenue Road central mixed-use investors in BH2
- Christchurch High Street fringe investors holding small-format retail in the BH23 Christchurch town centre
- Limited company SPV structures for new acquisitions; individual investor purchases at the smaller end
- Refinancing existing investment portfolios off maturing 5-year fixes from 2019 to 2021 vintage
- Mixed retail-and-office investors picking up Old Christchurch Road central stock in BH1
Where Bournemouth commercial investment volume actually sits
Bournemouth runs a distinctively diversified south-coast commercial investment market shaped by the BCP unitary economy: a central retail spine through Westover Road and the Square in BH1 and BH2, a Lansdowne professional-services office cluster in BH1 anchored by the JPMorgan Chase Littledown campus (c. 4,000 to 5,000 staff across BCP, one of the largest financial-services back-office footprints outside London), a regenerating Boscombe Spa Village retail-and-leisure stretch along Sea Road and Christchurch Road in BH5, the Citrus Building and wider Avenue Road / Winter Gardens central mixed-use cluster in BH2, and the Christchurch High Street fringe retail belt in BH23. Brokered investment volume splits roughly across Westover Road central retail and Lansdowne office investment, Boscombe Spa Village mixed-use regen, the Citrus Building and central CBD mixed-use, and the Christchurch High Street fringe. The £350K to £1.8M bracket is the deep volume zone for smaller landlords: parade retail and semi-commercial blocks across Charminster Road, Westbourne Arcade, Old Christchurch Road and Southbourne Grove. The £2M to £15M+ bracket is where the Lansdowne office, Westover Road retail and central Avenue Road / Winter Gardens mixed-use flow sits. Industrial investment runs through the Aviation Park corridor at Bournemouth Airport in Hurn (BH23) and onto the wider Christchurch and Poole industrial belts; that volume runs at a lower share of the local commercial mortgage book than tourism and professional-services investment. Interest rates currently 6.5 to 8.5% pa depending on covenant and LTV; LTVs typically capped at 60 to 75%. Shawbrook, InterBay Commercial, Cynergy Bank, LendInvest, NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and Santander all compete on Bournemouth commercial investment cases; Allica Bank, HTB, YBS Commercial, Aldermore and Paragon engage selectively across the south coast; Cambridge & Counties takes selected Dorset SME investment cases.
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Exploring Commercial Investment Mortgage for your Bournemouth scheme?
Free-of-charge scheme assessment. Indicative terms within 48 hours.