Commercial Mortgage Brokers for UK Businesses: Compare Panels, Fees and Handoffs

Compare three commercial mortgage brokers

For a UK business buying or refinancing premises, compare brokers on relevant lender access, eligible cases and disclosed remuneration—not panel size alone.

Alexander Hall

• Lender coverage: Alexander Hall describes commercial-finance lender access.[5] Ask which lenders on its current panel will consider the actual property, use and borrowing entity; a panel-size claim does not establish relevant access or whole-market coverage.
• Eligible cases: Its stated scope includes business premises, commercial buy-to-let, mixed-use property, land, shops with flats above, offices, hotels and purchases of a business with its property.[5]
• Remuneration check: Confirm the broker-fee amount, payment timing and lender commission before proceeding.[5]

Commercial Trust

• Lender coverage: Commercial Trust says it searches a wide range of UK lenders.[6]
• Eligible cases: It covers owner-occupied, investment and semi-commercial property, including applications from trading companies and special purpose vehicles, portfolios and complex ownership structures.[6]
• Published remuneration: It charges a booking fee at application after finding a deal, with most of its broker fee payable on completion.[6]

John Charcol

• Lender coverage: John Charcol says its commercial advisers compare high-street and specialist lenders.[8]
• Eligible cases: Its stated scope includes owner-occupiers, commercial investors, multi-unit freehold-block investors and mixed-portfolio refinancing. Property examples include offices, shops, industrial units, care premises, hotels and agricultural land.[8]
• Remuneration check: Confirm the broker-fee amount, payment timing and lender commission before proceeding.[8]

Commercial Trust describes fee timing and borrower categories; John Charcol describes commercial and portfolio cases; Alexander Hall outlines property and business-finance scope.[5][6][8] Use these descriptions to frame enquiries. They do not independently establish current panel coverage, savings, speed, approval rates or the lowest-cost deal.

How lender routes affect access and charges

Some specialist lenders accept business only through brokers and may restrict applications to pre-vetted panels.[3] Relevant access therefore matters more than a broad panel claim.

• Broker-only access: Atom requires commercial mortgage applications to go through an independent broker. It accepts limited companies, LLPs, partnerships and sole traders and gives brokers direct access to its underwriters.[9]
• Lender-funded referral: Shawbrook describes a consent-based referral route and lender-paid broker commission, with potential borrower fees depending on the case.[7] Obtain the actual borrower charge and commission disclosure. A lender-funded referral does not prove a whole-market search, a fee-free engagement or the best available offer.

Ask whether the search is restricted and which lenders were considered or excluded. Obtain the commission amount or calculation, who pays it, when it becomes due, whether it changes the borrower’s fee, and any refund or clawback provisions. A commission disclosure and borrower fee schedule should accompany the written engagement.

Compare borrowing against the same property and valuation

Published maximum LTVs and deposit examples are not a commitment to fund the specific property. Ask each broker to obtain a dated lender illustration for the same owner-occupied or investment use, borrowing entity and security. The lender makes the credit decision; an initial decision in principle may remain subject to underwriting and approval.[3]

• State the property use, loan purpose and any mixed-use element.
• Show the purchase price, lender valuation, valuation basis, security offered and any additional property at risk.
• Record gross borrowing, fees added to the loan, net proceeds, required buyer cash and completion costs separately.
• Identify the lender’s actual LTV limit, required debt-service evidence, guarantee conditions and offer expiry.
• Record what happens if the valuation is lower than expected or a lender condition cannot be met.

Compare the resulting cash requirement and payment schedule. Do not infer a universal deposit from a provider’s advertised maximum LTV.

Who handles each stage?

The broker may coordinate the application, but the lender, valuer and solicitor have separate roles.

1. Broker—research and application: discusses requirements, identifies possible products, seeks an initial decision in principle, packages documents, submits the application and tracks it through underwriting and approval.[3][8]
2. Lender—credit decision: conducts underwriting and decides whether to lend. In John Charcol’s documented process, the lender also instructs its own valuation of the security.[8]
3. Valuer—valuation: completes the lender-instructed valuation.[8] The scope of that work and who may rely on it should be confirmed in the valuation terms.
4. Solicitor or conveyancer—legal work: prepares contracts and handles the legal purchase or refinance after offer acceptance. For a purchase, John Charcol says the buyer arranges buildings insurance from exchange, pays the deposit and becomes legally bound at that point; completion follows when funds transfer.[8]

Alexander Hall says its advisers resolve application issues and provide updates until the commercial property loan is secured.[5] Its page does not assign liability for errors by the lender, valuer or solicitor.

Record responsibility before proceeding

For each stage, record the task, responsible organisation, named contact, deadline, required document, fee and escalation route. The cited broker pages do not allocate liability if a broker, lender, valuer or solicitor makes an error, so check the engagement letter, valuation terms, legal retainer and lender documents.[5][6][8]

Check whether the activity is FCA-regulated

Whether FCA rules apply depends on the activity being carried on. A broker conducting regulated mortgage activity must be FCA-authorised or an appointed representative of a firm with the relevant permissions.[2]

For regulated activity, the FCA expects brokers to address suitability, fair value of charges, understandable communications, support through the sales process and monitoring of customer outcomes.[2] These expectations should not be assumed to apply to every commercial transaction: Alexander Hall says business-property mortgages are typically not FCA-regulated,[5] while Shawbrook states that its commercial mortgages are regulated by neither the Financial Conduct Authority nor the Prudential Regulation Authority.[7]

Ask the broker to confirm the precise activity, borrowing entity and property use; whether the activity is regulated; the permissions relied upon; and the available complaint route and protections. Shawbrook also warns that property securing its commercial mortgages, including a home, may be repossessed if repayments are not maintained.[7]

What to confirm with each provider

Across the cited broker pages, exact fee amounts, lender commissions, refund and cancellation terms, engagement periods and geographic service boundaries remain unknown.[5][6][8]

• Lender access: Which lenders will be considered for the property, intended use and borrowing entity? Which broker-only lenders, restricted panels or excluded lenders affect the search?
• Total cost: What broker, booking, application, valuation, lender and legal charges may apply, when is each payable, and what commission will the broker receive?
• Failure or withdrawal: What is refundable if the lender declines, the valuation is insufficient, legal issues arise, the borrower withdraws or completion fails?
• Contract: What are the notice period, engagement length, exclusivity terms and fees due after termination?
• Responsibility: Who orders and pays for the valuation, who may rely on it, who appoints solicitors, who clears conditions and where does the broker’s responsibility end?
• Regulation: Is the specific activity regulated, what permissions apply and what complaint route or protections are available?

Choose only after comparing relevant lender access, property eligibility, total remuneration, contract terms, transaction handoffs and regulatory status in writing.

References

2. Apply to become a mortgage broker | FCA (fca.org.uk)
3. british-business-bank.co.uk (british-business-bank.co.uk)
5. Commercial Finance Broker | Commercial Mortgage Broker | Alexander Hall (alexanderhall.co.uk)
6. Commercial mortgages | Get a great deal with our specialist brokers (commercialtrust.co.uk)
7. Commercial Mortgages | Shawbrook (shawbrook.co.uk)
8. Commercial Mortgage Broker UK | John Charcol (charcol.co.uk)
9. Commercial Mortgages | Mortgages For Businesses | Atom bank (atombank.co.uk)