Pub freehold purchase in Cardiff: barrelage, EBITDA and the specialist lender desks
Buying a pub freehold is one of the most specialist commercial mortgages on the panel. Lenders test barrelage, beer-tie status, food-to-wet revenue split, license type, the operator's track record, and the EBITDA cover before they look at bricks-and-mortar value. This piece walks through what the licensed-trade desks at Cynergy Bank, ASK Partners and the small group of pub-active specialists actually want to see, using recent St Mary Street city-centre, Pontcanna Street CF11 and Mermaid Quay Cardiff Bay pub freeholds we have placed as worked examples. Free-of-tie freehold prices significantly tighter than tied; food-led pubs price tighter than wet-led. The piece sets out the rate ranges, the typical LTV ceilings, and where we see the 2026 Cardiff pub freehold market heading.
This piece is in preparation.
The outline below is the planned structure for the full piece. Send a topic suggestion or a follow-up question to enquiries@commercialmortgagescardiff.co.uk and we will work it in.
Coming soon, full guide to Cardiff pub freehold commercial mortgages.
Outline
- Why pubs are a specialist underwrite
- Free-of-tie vs tied freehold: pricing differential
- Barrelage and what lenders read into it
- Food-to-wet revenue split: the 60/40 threshold
- EBITDA cover: 1.8 to 2.4 times typical
- Bricks-and-mortar vs goodwill valuation
- Active specialist desks at mid-2026
- Worked example 1: Pontcanna Street CF11 food-led pub freehold purchase
- Worked example 2: St Mary Street city-centre CF10 freehold refinance
- Worked example 3: Mermaid Quay Cardiff Bay CF10 licensed asset refinance
- License type, review history and planning under the Welsh planning regime
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