Should you borrow in a limited company or your own name?
The choice of borrower shapes the tax, the lending and your personal exposure. Most owner-occupiers borrow through the trading company; most investors use an SPV; but it depends. Here is the map, not the advice.
The options
- Your trading limited company buys its own premises. Simple, mortgage interest and costs deductible against trading profit, the property on the company balance sheet (and exposed to the company's creditors).
- A separate property company (SPV) owns the building and lets it to the trading company. Ring-fences the property from the trade, allows different ownership between the two, and is the standard structure for investment property. Two sets of accounts; lenders want personal guarantees and often a cross-guarantee from the trading company.
- Personal names or a partnership. Rental profits taxed as personal income; simpler; lenders treat it as investment or owner-occupier depending on who trades from it. Full personal liability without needing a guarantee.
- A pension scheme, for owner-occupied premises. Explained here.
What lenders think
- Nearly all commercial lenders lend to limited companies and SPVs; a new SPV is fine if the directors have the experience and the deposit.
- A trading company borrower gets the owner-occupier product; an SPV letting to the trade gets underwritten on the trade's accounts anyway.
- Personal guarantees are standard for any company borrower. Details.
- Offshore or complex ownership narrows the lender list sharply.
Tax points to raise with an accountant
- Corporation tax versus income tax on rental profit.
- Extracting money from a company later (dividends, salary, sale of shares) versus owning personally.
- Capital gains on eventual sale: company versus personal rates and reliefs.
- Stamp duty and VAT on moving a property you already own into a company.
- Inheritance tax and business property relief.
Structure is an accountant's question first and a lender's second. Decide the structure before the application; changing borrower mid-process restarts the clock.
A note on the numbers. Rates, loan-to-value limits, fees and criteria are typical figures at the time of writing (2026). Commercial lending is priced case by case, so your own terms depend on the property, the business, the tenant and you. This is information, not advice, and not an offer of finance.
Quick answers
Can I move a property I own personally into my company?
Yes, but it is a sale at market value: stamp duty for the company, possibly capital gains tax for you, and a new mortgage. Sometimes worth it, often not; ask an accountant.
Do lenders charge more for an SPV?
Not usually, if the directors are strong. A brand-new SPV with no track record may get slightly lower LTV from some lenders.
Ready to talk to someone who can actually arrange it?
Tell us about the property and the business, and a commercial finance adviser will come back with which lenders fit, what rate to expect and what they'll want to see. No fee for the conversation, no obligation.