Commercial Mortgages Cardiff
Up to 75% LTV · Blended cover

Semi-Commercial Mortgages Cardiff

Single-facility finance for property where the residential element is at least 40% of total floorspace, the shop-with-flat archetype that defines Cardiff suburban high streets. Up to 75% loan-to-value, blended cover ~145%, interest rates 6.5 to 8.5% pa, 5 to 25 year repayment terms. Active across Albany Road, Wellfield Road, Pontcanna Street, Cowbridge Road East and Whitchurch Road.

LTV

Up to 75%

Rate

From 6.5% pa

Term

5 to 25 years

Blended cover

~145%

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Defining mixed-use property, when does semi-commercial pricing apply?

Semi-commercial finance is a single facility funding mixed-use property, typically a commercial unit on the ground floor with one or more self-contained residential flats above. Where the residential element is at least 40% of total floorspace, semi-commercial pricing applies (instead of pure commercial investment pricing). Where residential is below 40%, lenders treat it as commercial investment and price accordingly.

The lending test combines the commercial rent and the residential income on a blended basis, with a typical cover requirement around 145%. Lenders take comfort from the residential security, a flat above is easier to re-let than a vacant retail unit if the commercial side falls vacant, so semi-commercial routinely prices 50 to 100bps inside pure commercial investment. Loan-to-value to 75% is achievable on standard archetypes via specialist desks. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (in force from 1 December 2022) replaces ASTs with occupation contracts in Wales; lenders that originate UK-wide are entirely comfortable with the regime but the credit pack must cite occupation contracts (not ASTs) on the residential leg.

Specialist lenders dominate this market. InterBay Commercial (OSB Group) and Shawbrook are the two most active named desks; LendInvest, Together, Aldermore, YBS Commercial, Hampshire Trust Bank and Cambridge & Counties also run active programmes for Cardiff semi-commercial deals between £150K and £2M. Limited company SPV structures are standard; individual investor and LLP variations are equally accommodated.

Regulation matters here. Most semi-commercial lending is unregulated commercial, the borrower is a limited company or investor, the residential flats are let to third parties on occupation contracts. The exception: where the borrower (or an immediate family member) will personally occupy one of the flats, the deal can fall into FCA-regulated mortgage rules and routes to a regulated commercial lender. Stamp duty land tax follows non-residential rates on the whole property where commercial use is genuinely incidental, that is materially cheaper than residential SDLT and is part of why investors favour the structure.

Underwriting steps for a Cardiff shop-and-flats deal

1. Tenancy and split review

We check residential/commercial floorspace split, leases on the commercial side, occupation contracts on the residential side, tenant covenant on each.

2. Indicative terms in 48 hours

Three to four specialist semi-commercial lenders quoted. Interest rate, loan-to-value, term, fees.

3. Credit pack

Lease pack, occupation contract pack, property file, borrower SPV (or individual) pack. InterBay and Shawbrook want clean tenancy evidence under the Welsh regime.

4. RICS Red Book valuation

Separates commercial value, residential value and total. Estimated rental value on the commercial unit important to the cover test.

5. Credit approval

Specialist desks typically approve in 1 to 2 weeks post-valuation.

6. Legal completion and SDLT

Standard mixed-use conveyancing through Wales-registered panel solicitors. Stamp duty at non-residential rates applies on the whole. 3 to 5 weeks typical.

Buyer profiles for the shop-with-flat archetype

  • Investors buying classic shop-with-flat-above stock on Cardiff suburban high streets
  • Limited company SPV landlords refinancing semi-commercial holdings off maturing 5-year fixes
  • Portfolio investors with a mix of pure commercial and semi-commercial assets across Cardiff and the Cardiff Capital Region
  • Pub or restaurant operators with operator flat above (where the operator lives in the flat)
  • Mixed-use development conversions where consent is for ground-floor retail plus four to six flats above
  • First-time semi-commercial investors moving up from a residential buy-to-let portfolio
  • Retiring landlords selling individual semi-commercial assets to incoming portfolio investors

Active Cardiff semi-commercial parades and lender behaviour

Semi-commercial is a deep, active product across the City and County of Cardiff. The classic suburban high streets, Albany Road and Wellfield Road in Roath (CF24), Pontcanna Street in Pontcanna (CF11), Cowbridge Road East in Canton (CF5), Whitchurch Road in Heath (CF14), Llandaff High Street (CF5) and the Crwys Road / Woodville Road belt in Cathays, all run on shop-with-flat-above stock. Recent change-of-use cases (former bank conversions to bar with residential potential above; converting ground-floor retail with first-floor offices into retail-plus-residential) are typical semi-commercial profiles. Welsh Use Classes apply (Wales has not adopted the post-2020 English Class E framework). Lender appetite strong: InterBay Commercial, Shawbrook, LendInvest, Together, Aldermore, YBS Commercial and Hampshire Trust Bank all actively quote.

Semi-Commercial Mortgage FAQs

Mixed-use property where the residential element is typically 40% or more of total floorspace. Below 40% residential, lenders treat it as pure commercial investment (and price it accordingly). The valuer measures GIA (gross internal area) on each element and the lender takes the split as evidence.
InterBay Commercial, Shawbrook, LendInvest, Together, Aldermore, YBS Commercial, Hampshire Trust Bank and Cambridge & Counties. Each has a slightly different LTV, covenant and minimum-loan profile. Interest rates from 6.5% pa for clean stock.
Yes, InterBay and Shawbrook routinely quote 75% LTV on standard shop-with-flat archetypes. The blended cover test must still pass at 145%+; if rents are tight, LTV gets capped by the cover test rather than the headline maximum.
In force from 1 December 2022, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 replaced ASTs with occupation contracts in Wales. The substantive economics are largely unchanged (rent flows, possession routes), but lenders that originate Welsh stock will want the credit pack to cite occupation contracts on the residential leg, not ASTs. We handle the documentation pack on every Cardiff semi-commercial case.
Generally unregulated. Semi-commercial lending against let mixed-use property sits outside the Financial Conduct Authority's regulated mortgage perimeter, the borrower is a limited company or investor and the residential flats are let to third parties on occupation contracts. We do not hold FCA authorisation because the products we arrange are unregulated. The exception: where the borrower or an immediate family member will personally occupy one of the residential flats, the deal can fall into the regulated perimeter, in that case we refer to a regulated firm.
Stamp duty land tax follows non-residential rates on a genuinely mixed-use property, 0% to £150K, 2% £150K to £250K, 5% above. On a £600K shop-with-two-flats purchase the SDLT bill is around £19,500. That is materially cheaper than the residential SDLT (with the 3% additional-property surcharge) that would apply to a pure residential equivalent, one of the structural reasons investors favour semi-commercial.

Other Development Finance Services

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