Industrial and Logistics commercial mortgages

Industrial is the asset class we are placing the most commercial mortgage cases on in 2026, and it is the sector where lender appetite, building demand and tenant covenant strength all line up at the same time. The phrase commercial mortgage broker advisors use internally for industrial is the easy file, and that is broadly fair, though as with any sector the detail still matters.

We arrange industrial commercial mortgages across the United Kingdom, from sub 5,000 sq ft owner occupier light industrial units up to mid box investment warehouses. The pricing and LTV envelope is wider than it looks at first glance, and the right lender depends on whether the unit is owner occupied or investment, the deal size, and the location.

Why industrial is pricing tighter than other sectors

UK industrial vacancy has sat below 5% nationally for over four years, and last mile logistics has run at 2% or less in major urban centres. Rents have grown faster than any other commercial sub sector across the same period, with some last mile locations showing 8% to 12% annual rental growth. The structural shift towards e commerce, the slow reshoring of certain manufacturing supply chains, and the post Brexit warehouse stockpiling effect have all combined to make UK industrial the asset class most institutional investors are still actively trying to buy.

Lenders read that demand signal directly. Almost every UK commercial mortgage lender we work with has industrial near the top of its appetite list, and several lenders have widened their LTV bands for industrial specifically while tightening on office and high street retail. The competitive tension we see on industrial files is genuinely useful for clients, because it lets us run a tighter rate negotiation than we can on other sectors.

The four sub markets within industrial

Light industrial units, generally under 10,000 sq ft on multi let estates, are the bread and butter of owner occupier industrial. Loan sizes typically £400k to £2m. The lender list is wide, the rates are tight, and decisioning is quick.

Mid box warehouse, 10,000 to 50,000 sq ft, sits in the £1m to £8m loan range and brings the challenger banks into play. Investment cases predominate, with strong covenants. Pricing is still tight.

Big box logistics, 50,000 sq ft and above, is institutional territory. Loan sizes typically £5m and up. We can transact here through the larger challenger banks and selected funds, but the conversation runs longer and the documentation is heavier.

Last mile urban logistics, the smaller infill industrial sites near urban centres, has emerged as a distinct sub sector with its own demand profile. Lenders are comfortable here because the demand fundamentals are unusually strong.

The cleanest path for an owner occupier industrial purchase

The fastest way through an owner occupier industrial commercial mortgage in 2026 is to have the following ready before the broker conversation. Two to three years filed accounts of the trading entity, current year management accounts, a clear deposit source, the property details including EPC, and a sensible serviceability case on trading cashflow alone. Where all of that is in place, a clean industrial owner occupier case can be from initial broker call to drawn down funds inside six to eight weeks.

Industrial is still the sector we recommend any owner occupier trading from leased space to consider buying their own freehold on. The numbers usually work, the lender appetite is strong, and the property itself tends to appreciate at sensible rates given the underlying demand picture.