Pub Finance: How to Buy, Refinance or Convert a Pub in 2026

By Jake Stott, Knox Mortgages. Reviewed by an adviser authorised under Fort Advice Bureau, FCA FRN 972730. Published 25 September 2026. Last reviewed 25 September 2026.

What is pub finance?

Pub finance is commercial lending secured on a public house, used to buy a pub, refinance one you already own, fund a refurbishment, or buy a closed pub and convert it to another use. The main products are a commercial mortgage (5 to 30 years) for a trading freehold pub, a bridging loan (3 to 24 months) for a closed or non-trading pub, and development finance or development exit finance for a conversion. Only freehold and long leasehold pubs can be mortgaged. A tied tenancy or short lease from a pub company cannot.

A pub is not valued like a house. A lender underwrites the business first and the building second: turnover, the wet and dry split, profit, the operator’s licenced trade experience and whether the debt can be serviced from the trade. Get those right and a trading pub is very fundable. Get them wrong and the high street bank declines it on sight.

Knox Mortgages is a whole-of-market broker with a commercial and bridging desk. Every lender named on this page and every figure quoted comes from a published lender guide or our own lender database, dated so you know how fresh it is.

Can you get a mortgage to buy a pub?

Yes. A pub mortgage is a commercial mortgage secured on a freehold (or long leasehold) public house, and a handful of UK banks and specialist lenders will write one. Typical terms in September 2026 are 50% to 70% loan to value, 15 to 30 year terms and rates of roughly 6.5% to 9% a year. The working assumption for a purchase is a 30% to 40% deposit, plus stamp duty, fees and working capital.

The lender is lending to a business that happens to own a building, so it wants three things. First, evidence the pub trades profitably: two to three years of accounts for the pub you are buying, or at least 12 months for some lenders. Second, an operator it believes in: licenced trade experience, a personal licence and a credible plan. Third, a debt that the trade can carry at a stressed rate, normally with 125% to 130% debt service cover.

What changes the answer is the type of pub. A free-of-tie freehold with a strong food trade is a mainstream commercial mortgage. A wet-led rural local with falling barrelage is a specialist case at a lower loan to value. A pub that has already closed is not a mortgage case at all until it trades again. It is a bridging case.

Freehold free of tie, tied, tenanted or leasehold: which pubs can be mortgaged?

Only pubs where you will own a real interest in the property can be mortgaged, which in practice means a freehold, or a long leasehold with enough unexpired term for the lender to take a legal charge. A tenancy or a short lease from a pub company gives you a business to run, not an asset a lender can secure against. You fund that with savings, an unsecured business loan or a secured loan against another property.

Pub type	What you own	Mortgageable?	How it is usually funded
Freehold, free of tie	The building, the land and a free choice of suppliers	Yes, the easiest pub to finance	Commercial mortgage at 55% to 70% LTV
Freehold, tied (beer tie to a brewer or supplier)	The building, but you buy beer through the tie	Yes, but the tie reduces profit and value; lenders want it priced in	Commercial mortgage, often lower LTV
Long leasehold (typically 50+ years unexpired, peppercorn rent)	A lease that behaves like ownership	Usually, subject to lender minimum unexpired term	Commercial mortgage, case by case
Tied tenancy or short lease from a pub company	A right to trade, paying rent plus tied prices	No	Ingoing costs from savings, unsecured business loans, or equity released elsewhere
Investment pub let to an operator	The freehold, earning rent from a tenant	Yes, as a commercial investment	Investment commercial mortgage sized on the rent

Freehold free of tie is the gold standard because the owner keeps the full margin on every pint. That margin is what drives profit, value and borrowing. If you are a tied tenant of a large pub company in England or Wales, the Pubs Code (in force since 2016 for pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs) gives you rights including, in certain trigger events, a market rent only option. That can be a step towards buying the freehold later. For the lease-based options, read our owner-occupier commercial mortgage guide.

How do lenders value a pub?

A RICS valuer values a trading pub as a going concern: the price a buyer would pay for the building, the licence, the fixtures and the trade together. The report normally carries three figures. MV1 is the market value as a fully equipped operational entity at its current level of trade. MV2 assumes the pub has closed and must be reopened. MV3 is the vacant possession value of the empty building with the trade and trade inventory gone. Lenders set the maximum loan on the lower of a percentage of MV1 and a percentage of the vacant possession value.

The going concern figure is built from fair maintainable trade and fair maintainable operating profit. The valuer reads the accounts, strips out one-off items and the current owner’s quirks, and asks what a reasonably efficient operator would make. That operating profit is then capitalised at a multiple that reflects location, condition, the tie, and how dependent the pub is on the current owner.

Two numbers inside the accounts move that multiple more than anything else. Barrelage is the volume of beer sold each year, measured in 36-gallon barrels (288 pints), and a falling barrelage tells the valuer trade is draining away. The wet and dry split is the share of turnover from drink versus food and rooms. A balanced or food-led pub is usually valued more generously than a purely wet-led one, because it is less exposed to a single revenue line.

What does a lender look at in a pub’s accounts?

The lender looks at turnover, gross margin, adjusted EBITDA and the trend over at least two years, then checks each against what a pub of that type and location should achieve. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) is the figure the loan is sized on, because it shows the cash the trade throws off before the new debt is paid.

Metric	What the lender is asking	What looks healthy	Red flag
Turnover trend	Is trade growing, stable or falling?	Stable or rising over 2 to 3 years	Falling two years running
Barrelage	Is drink volume holding up?	Stable, with evidence from supplier statements	Sharp fall, or a tie that hides true volume
Wet and dry split	How dependent is the pub on one revenue line?	A mix of drink, food and rooms	90%+ wet with no food offer
Wet gross margin	Is the pub buying and pricing drink well?	Roughly 55% to 70% free of tie	Well below that, suggesting wastage or theft
Wage costs	Is staffing under control?	In line with the trade level and style	Wages rising faster than turnover
Adjusted EBITDA	What cash is available to service debt?	Covers stressed debt payments at 125% to 130%+	Covers debt only at the pay rate, or not at all

Adjusted means the lender adds back items that will not continue under you (the seller’s loan interest, depreciation, genuinely one-off repairs) and deducts items the accounts leave out. The most common deduction is a notional management wage where the current owners run the pub without paying themselves a market salary. The gross margin ranges above are indicative trade norms, not a lender rule, so treat them as a sense check.

Costs outside the pub’s control feed the same test. In England, eligible pubs receive 15% business rates relief in 2026/27, applied after transitional and small business relief, followed by a real-terms freeze for 2027/28 and 2028/29 (GOV.UK, January 2026). A lender will expect your projections to use the rates bill you will actually pay.

Pub mortgage DSCR worked example with the arithmetic

Debt service cover ratio (DSCR) is adjusted EBITDA divided by the annual mortgage payments, and most pub lenders want at least 125% to 130%. Allica Bank’s 24 September 2026 product guide, for example, asks for 130% debt service cover, calculated at the pay rate on a fixed rate and at the pay rate plus 2% on a variable rate. Here is how that plays out on a real-shaped deal.

The pub: a free-of-tie freehold village pub with a flat above, asking price £850,000. Turnover £540,000, split 62% wet and 38% dry.

Step 1, adjust the profit. Reported net profit £48,000. Add back depreciation £16,000, the seller’s loan interest £21,000 and a one-off roof repair £5,000. Deduct a notional management wage of £18,000 because the sellers paid themselves nothing. Adjusted EBITDA = £48,000 + £16,000 + £21,000 + £5,000 minus £18,000 = £72,000.

Step 2, size the loan on value. 65% of £850,000 = £552,500.

Step 3, test it on a 5-year fix at 7.5% over 20 years, capital and interest. Monthly payment £4,451, annual £53,411. DSCR = £72,000 ÷ £53,411 = 134.8%. That clears 130%.

Step 4, test the same loan on a variable rate stressed 2% higher (9.5%). Annual payments £61,800. DSCR = £72,000 ÷ £61,800 = 116.5%. That fails.

Step 5, find the maximum loan. At 130%, the most the pub can pay is £72,000 ÷ 1.3 = £55,385 a year. On the 7.5% fix that supports about £572,900, so value is the limit and £552,500 stands. On the stressed variable it supports only about £495,100, roughly £57,400 less.

Scenario	Loan	Annual payments	DSCR	Result
5-year fix at 7.5%, 20 years	£552,500	£53,411	134.8%	Passes 130%
Variable stressed to 9.5%, 20 years	£552,500	£61,800	116.5%	Fails 130%
Maximum loan, variable stressed	£495,100	£55,385	130.0%	Passes, but £57,400 less borrowing

The lesson: on a pub, the product choice changes the borrowing. Choosing a fixed rate, stretching the term to 25 years (annual payments drop to £48,995, DSCR 147%) or evidencing a higher EBITDA all create headroom. Which lever to pull is exactly what we model before a case goes to a lender.

How much deposit do you need to buy a pub?

Plan on a 30% to 40% deposit for a trading freehold pub, plus 5% to 8% of the price again for stamp duty, fees and working capital. Lenders publish maximums of 70% or 75% on commercial property, but pubs usually sit below the headline because they are specialist, trading assets. Together publishes up to 50% LTV on pubs. The Cumberland Building Society publishes up to 55% on pubs and restaurants with rooms. Allica Bank’s September 2026 guide lists 70% on vacant possession value and 65% on the MV1 trading value for restaurants and pubs.

On the £850,000 pub in the worked example, the cash needed to complete looks like this.

Cost	Amount	Notes
Deposit (35%)	£297,500	Price £850,000 less £552,500 loan
Stamp Duty Land Tax	£32,000	Non-residential rates: 0% to £150,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% above. A flat above does not change this: mixed-use property pays non-residential rates
Lender arrangement fee	About £8,300	1.5% of the loan (Allica’s published fee); others charge 1% to 2%
Valuation, legal and licensing	£12,000 to £20,000	RICS going concern valuation, both sets of lawyers, licence transfer
Stock at valuation and working capital	£20,000 to £40,000	Drink and food stock is bought separately at completion, plus a cash buffer for the first quarter
Total cash needed	About £370,000 to £398,000	Before any refurbishment

VAT is the cost that catches people out. If the seller has opted to tax the building and the sale does not qualify as a Transfer of Going Concern, 20% VAT is added to the price: £170,000 on this pub. It is recoverable, but you still need to fund it on the day. See the VAT section below.

Which lenders offer pub mortgages in the UK?

Around a dozen lenders actively write pub mortgages, split between SME banks, specialist commercial lenders and a couple of building societies. Criteria below are quoted from each lender’s published guide or website, with the date we checked. Criteria marked “confirm at DIP” come from our lender database or broker summaries and must be confirmed on a decision in principle before you rely on them.

Lender	Pub appetite and published criteria	Checked
Allica Bank	Restaurants and pubs listed at 70% of vacant possession value, 65% of MV1. Loans £150,000 to £10m, 30-year capital and interest, 1.5% arrangement fee, 130% debt service cover (pay rate on fixed, pay rate plus 2% on variable)	Product guide, 24 Sep 2026
Cambridge & Counties Bank	Owner-occupier: up to 75% of vacant possession value, or the lower of 70% MV1 and 85% MV3. £250,000 minimum in England and Wales (£500,000 in Scotland), up to £15m per customer, 12 months to 25 years, 12 months minimum trading	Website, Sep 2026
Shawbrook (Commercial Trading)	Owner-occupied commercial and semi-commercial, £150,000 to £2.5m, up to 75% LTV, rates from 6.44%, loan based on trading history. Pub appetite: confirm at DIP	Website, Sep 2026
Together	Commercial mortgages from £50,000 to £5m; up to 50% LTV on pubs, B&Bs, dry cleaners and land. Has a published case study funding a village pub over 25 years	Website, Sep 2026
The Cumberland Building Society	Pubs and restaurants with rooms, up to 55% LTV, up to £6m, maximum 15 years, north of England and Scotland only	Website, Sep 2026
InterBay (OSB Group)	Owner-occupier affordability at 125% of net profit or EBITDA with 2 years’ trading, max 75% term LTV, England and Wales only. Licenced trade: confirm at DIP	Product guide, 28 May 2026
YBS Commercial Mortgages	Term lending £250,000 to £20m, up to 75% LTV, minimum property value £135,000; strongest on investment and semi-commercial pubs. Confirm at DIP	Knox lender database, Jun 2026
Hampshire Trust Bank	Commercial and semi-commercial investment; better suited to a pub let to an operator than an owner-operated trade. Confirm at DIP	Knox lender database, Jun 2026
High street (NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds, Santander)	Owner-occupier trading businesses only; NatWest charges no set-up fee and no early repayment charge on standard commercial mortgages. Usually want 3 years’ accounts and a strong operator	Knox lender database, Jun 2026

Not every commercial lender will look at a pub. In our database, Velocity lists leisure among its no-appetite sectors and Atom bank excludes nightclubs, so a late-licence venue narrows the panel quickly. Choosing the lender before the valuation is instructed saves weeks and a wasted fee.

Which bridging lenders fund pubs?

Bridging lenders fund pubs that a mortgage lender will not touch yet: closed pubs, pubs with collapsed trade, pubs needing a refurbishment before they reopen, and pubs being bought to convert. A bridge is lent on the bricks and mortar value, typically 55% to 70% of vacant possession, for 3 to 24 months, with interest charged monthly and usually rolled up into the loan. The exit is a commercial mortgage once the pub trades, a sale, or development exit finance after a conversion.

Bridging lender	Relevant appetite	Pricing and limits (as held on file)
Proplend	Commercial only; pubs, leisure and petrol stations named in appetite; bridge or term plus a VAT loan	Bridge from 0.85% pm, term from 7.25% pa, £250,000 to £2.5m, 75% max LTV
Ortus Secured Finance	Trading business lending on projections; stabilisation loans for hospitality not yet at full income	Commercial bridging around 0.92% pm, £250,000 to £25m, 70% max LTV
Octopus Capital	Commercial bridging on hotels, vacant and turnaround assets (June 2026)	From about 0.85% pm, £1m to £25m, 1 to 18 months
TAB	Commercial bridging with a long-term mortgage under the same roof	Commercial from 0.72% pm, capped at 70% LTV
MT Finance	Commercial and semi-commercial bridging; leisure sits in its specialist commercial mortgage band at 70%	Commercial bridging 0.95% to 1.05% pm at 70% LTV
Cambridge & Counties Bank	Bridging from the same bank that can provide the term loan	Commercial to 70% of vacant possession, £500,000 to £5m, 1 to 24 months, 2% fee

Pricing is taken from our lender database (updated June 2026) and each lender’s guide; bridge pricing moves monthly, so treat it as a guide. For how bridging is structured and priced, read our commercial bridging loan guide.

Do you need pub experience to get a pub mortgage?

You do not strictly need to have owned a pub, but you need licenced trade experience somewhere in the deal, and without it the loan to value drops. Lenders are backing an operator, and pubs fail far more often through poor management than poor buildings. A first-time owner who has run a managed house for a pub company for five years is a strong applicant. A first-time owner from an unrelated career with no hospitality background is a hard one.

If you have no track record, three things rebuild the case. Bring in an experienced general manager, named in the business plan with their CV. Partner with someone who has run licenced premises. Or accept a lower loan to value, typically 50% to 60%, and put more cash in.

Licensing matters too. In England and Wales, alcohol sales need a premises licence for the building and a designated premises supervisor (DPS) holding a personal licence, under the Licensing Act 2003. Lenders will want the premises licence transferred to you (or your company) at completion and a named DPS in place. If you have not yet got a personal licence, start the accredited qualification before you apply, not after.

Can you buy a closed pub and convert it to housing?

Yes, and it is one of the most common pub deals we see, but it is a planning case first and a finance case second. In England, pubs have been outside permitted development rights for change of use and demolition since 23 May 2017, and since September 2020 they sit in their own sui generis use class. That means converting a pub to homes needs full planning permission, and councils often expect marketing evidence showing the pub is no longer viable as a pub before they approve.

The second hurdle is community value. Many pubs are listed as Assets of Community Value under the Localism Act 2011. A listing does not stop a sale, but it triggers a moratorium when the owner decides to sell (6 weeks, extended to 6 months if a community group registers interest), and councils can treat the listing as a material consideration in planning. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (Royal Assent 29 April 2026) replaces the community right to bid with a stronger community right to buy. Those provisions only take effect once regulations are made, so check the position on the date you buy. This section covers England; Scotland and Wales run their own planning and community ownership rules.

How it is funded. A closed pub has no trade to lend on, so the purchase is funded on a bridging loan at 55% to 70% of the vacant possession value. Once planning is granted, the build is funded by refurbishment finance or development finance. When the homes are complete, development exit finance repays the build lender while the units sell or refinance.

Worked example. A closed village pub bought for £450,000 with a 65% bridge (£292,500) at 0.85% a month costs £2,486 a month in interest, £29,835 over 12 months if rolled up, plus a 2% arrangement fee (£5,850). Stamp duty at non-residential rates is £12,000. Planning takes as long as it takes, so we size the bridge term with at least 6 months of slack.

Can you get a mortgage on a pub with letting rooms?

Yes, and letting rooms usually help, because rooms add a third income stream and make the pub more resilient than a wet-only trade. Lenders underwrite the rooms as part of the trade, so the room revenue, occupancy and rate go into the same adjusted EBITDA as the bar and kitchen. The Cumberland, for example, markets its commercial mortgage specifically at pubs and restaurants with rooms.

The line to watch is when a pub with rooms starts to look like a hotel. Once rooms are a large share of turnover, the valuer and the lender assess it as a small hotel or inn, with occupancy, average daily rate and online reviews carrying real weight. That is not a problem; it simply moves the case onto the hospitality desks. Our hotel finance guide covers inns, guest houses and B&Bs in detail.

The owner’s accommodation matters too. A flat above the pub that the owner lives in is normal and lenders accept it, but if 40% or more of the property is used as a home by the borrower or a family member, the mortgage can become FCA regulated, which changes the lender list. Where the residential element is let separately rather than lived in, it becomes a semi-commercial mortgage conversation.

How do VAT and TOGC work when you buy a pub?

Buying a trading pub is usually a Transfer of Going Concern (TOGC), which means no VAT is charged on the price even if the seller has opted to tax the building. For TOGC treatment you must carry on the same kind of business (a pub) without a significant break, be VAT registered, or required to be, by completion, and, if the seller has opted to tax, opt to tax yourself and notify HMRC before the tax point. HMRC’s guidance is in VAT Notice 700/9.

Get this wrong and 20% VAT lands on the price. On an £850,000 pub that is £170,000 of cash you must find on completion day and then reclaim, and stamp duty is charged on the VAT-inclusive figure. Some lenders (Proplend and Cambridge & Counties among them) offer short VAT bridging loans for exactly this gap.

Buying a closed pub to convert is different, because there is no going concern to transfer. If the building is opted to tax, VAT applies to the sale unless you intend to convert it to dwellings and give the seller a certificate (form VAT1614D) before the price is fixed, which disapplies the option. Your solicitor and accountant should confirm the position in writing before exchange. Knox does not give tax advice; we make sure the finance is structured around the answer.

Can you refinance a pub or release equity?

Yes. Refinancing a pub you own works like a purchase without the price: the lender values the pub as a going concern, applies its loan to value cap and tests the debt service cover on your own accounts. Owners refinance to move off an expensive bridge once trade has recovered, to escape a variable rate, to release equity for a refurbishment or a second site, or to buy out a partner.

The accounts you have filed are what you will be judged on, so timing matters. If your last full year was weak and the current year is strong, a lender that accepts 12 months’ trading plus up-to-date management accounts (Cambridge & Counties publishes a 12-month trading minimum) may lend more than one that averages three years. If you refurbished last year, the uplift will not show until a full year of the new trade is in the accounts, which is when a refinance usually lands best.

Raising capital against the pub for expansion is the same exercise. For the lender list and product mechanics behind owner-operated premises, see our commercial mortgage page.

Why do pub finance applications get declined, and what fixes them?

Most pub declines come down to five things: trading figures that do not cover the debt, an operator the lender does not trust, a valuation below the price, a property type the lender will not take, or a paperwork gap. Each has a fix if it is spotted before the application.

Why it gets declined	What the lender sees	The fix
DSCR below 125% to 130%	Adjusted EBITDA cannot carry the payments at a stressed rate	Fix the rate, extend the term, add back legitimate items properly, or lower the loan
No licenced trade experience	High risk of failure under a new operator	Named experienced manager, experienced partner, or a lower LTV with more cash in
Down-valuation	Going concern value below the agreed price	Renegotiate the price on the valuation, or bridge and refinance once trade is proven
Falling barrelage or turnover	A pub in decline, valued accordingly	Evidence the reason (roadworks, a closure, poor management) and your turnaround plan
Wrong lender for the asset	Late licence, nightclub-style trade or a sector exclusion	Place the case with a lender whose appetite covers it from the start
Tied or short leasehold interest	No mortgageable security	Fund the ingoing costs another way, or negotiate a freehold purchase
Weak or late accounts	Cannot evidence the trade	Up-to-date management accounts, supplier statements, till and card data
Adverse credit or arrears	Unmanaged debt	Specialist lender at a lower LTV, with the explanation evidenced up front

The pattern we see most often is a sound pub sent to the wrong lender. A high street bank declines, the valuation fee is lost and the seller loses patience. Matching the lender to the pub before anything is instructed is most of the job.

Pub finance case study: free-of-tie village freehold with four letting rooms

This is an illustrative case based on the kind of pub deal we place, with details changed to protect the client.

A couple had run a managed pub for a national pub company for six years and wanted a freehold of their own. They agreed £690,000 for a free-of-tie village pub in the North West with four letting rooms and a two-bedroom owner’s flat. Turnover was £430,000 (55% wet, 30% food, 15% rooms). Reported profit was modest because the retiring owner had been cutting hours. Their high street bank declined because the couple had never owned a business.

We rebuilt the case around their management record, their personal licences and three years of trading data from the pubs they had run, and presented adjusted EBITDA of £66,000 after a notional management wage. We placed it with a specialist lender that accepts operator experience in place of ownership experience, at 65% of value (£448,500) on a 5-year fix over 25 years, with DSCR comfortably above the lender’s 130% requirement. The purchase was structured as a TOGC, so no VAT was payable on the price.

Borrowing figures in this example are illustrative. Your borrowing will depend on the pub’s trade, your experience and the lender’s assessment on the day.

How long does pub finance take?

A pub purchase on a commercial mortgage typically takes 8 to 14 weeks from agreeing the price to completion. A bridge on a closed pub can complete in 3 to 6 weeks if the title and valuation are clean. The pinch points are the RICS going concern valuation (often 2 to 3 weeks to report), the premises licence transfer, and the TOGC paperwork.

Stage	Commercial mortgage	Bridging loan
Decision in principle	2 to 5 working days	1 to 3 working days
Valuation instructed and reported	2 to 4 weeks	1 to 3 weeks
Credit approval and offer	1 to 3 weeks	Days
Legal work, licence transfer, completion	3 to 6 weeks	2 to 4 weeks
Typical total	8 to 14 weeks	3 to 6 weeks

How does Knox arrange pub finance?

We start with the pub, not the product. On a discovery call we look at the price, the accounts, the tie, the wet and dry split, your experience and your plan, then model the DSCR across the lenders whose appetite actually covers the pub. You see the borrowing, the likely rate range and the cash you need before any valuation fee is spent.

From there we package the case: adjusted EBITDA with every add-back evidenced, the operator profile, the business plan and the TOGC position. We submit to the lender most likely to say yes at the best terms, manage the valuation and keep the solicitors moving until completion. If the pub is closed or needs work, we arrange the bridge and plan the refinance on day one, so the exit is agreed before the loan is taken.

Knox arranges commercial and bridging finance as a whole-of-market broker. Commercial lending to a business is generally not regulated by the FCA, which we will explain on the call if it affects your case.

Frequently asked questions about pub finance

How much money do I need to buy a freehold pub?

Expect to need 35% to 45% of the price in cash. That covers a 30% to 40% deposit plus stamp duty, legal and valuation fees, the arrangement fee, stock at valuation and working capital. On an £850,000 pub, that is roughly £370,000 to £398,000 before any refurbishment.

Can I get a mortgage on a pub with no accounts?

Not a standard commercial mortgage, because there is no trade to lend on. The routes are a bridging loan on the vacant possession value, refinanced once the pub has traded for 12 months or more, or a purchase using the seller’s accounts if the pub is trading and you continue the same business.

What interest rate will I pay on a pub mortgage?

Roughly 6.5% to 9% a year in September 2026, depending on the loan to value, the lender and the strength of the accounts. Shawbrook publishes commercial trading rates from 6.44%. Bridging on a closed pub typically costs 0.72% to 1.05% a month plus a 2% arrangement fee.

Can I buy a pub through a limited company?

Yes, and most pub purchases are made through a limited company, sometimes with a property company owning the freehold and an operating company running the trade. Lenders will usually want personal guarantees from the directors, and the premises licence must be held by the company that runs the pub.

Is a pub mortgage regulated by the FCA?

Usually not. A pub mortgage is a commercial loan to a business and sits outside FCA mortgage regulation. The exception is where the borrower or a family member lives in 40% or more of the property, when it can become a regulated mortgage contract with different lenders and protections.

Can I get a mortgage on a tied pub?

Yes on a tied freehold, no on a tied tenancy. A tied freehold can be mortgaged, but the tie reduces margin and value, so lenders price it in. A tied tenancy or lease from a pub company is not an ownership interest a lender can charge, so ingoing costs must come from elsewhere.

Can I buy a pub that is listed as an Asset of Community Value?

Yes. A listing does not stop a sale, but it triggers a moratorium of up to 6 months so a community group can bid, and it can weigh against a change of use in planning. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 will replace this with a community right to buy once regulations are in force.

How much can I borrow against a pub?

Most lenders cap a pub mortgage at 50% to 70% of value, with Allica’s September 2026 guide at 70% of vacant possession value and 65% of the trading value. The debt service cover test at 125% to 130% often caps the loan below that, so the real answer is the lower of the two.

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