Commercial Mortgage Without Accounts
Need a commercial mortgage but your business has no filed accounts yet? This UK commercial property finance guide explains how lenders may assess a new business, incomplete trading history or a newly formed borrowing company. Your property, deposit or equity, cash flow, relevant experience and alternative financial evidence can all affect which funding route is realistic.
Can you get a commercial mortgage without accounts?
Potentially. Commercial mortgage applications are assessed on the strength of the complete case rather than one document in isolation. Full trading accounts are important to many lenders, but the evidence required can vary according to the business, property, borrower and purpose of the mortgage.
If a business is newly established, has not yet produced a complete set of filed accounts, or is using a new borrowing vehicle, it may still be worth reviewing the case before assuming that conventional commercial mortgage finance is unavailable.
The key is to establish what financial information already exists, why historical accounts are unavailable and what evidence can demonstrate the proposed mortgage is supportable.
Checking the deposit instead? A missing deposit is a separate question from incomplete business accounts. See our commercial mortgage deposit guide.
Commercial mortgage without accounts: alternative lender evidence
Requirements differ between lenders and applications. For a commercial mortgage without full accounts, with limited trading history or without a complete set of filed financial statements, the stronger the alternative evidence, the easier it is to establish which finance routes are realistic.
Accounts available so far
Draft, management or partial-period financial information may help show how the business has performed to date, depending on the lender's requirements.
Business bank statements
Existing banking activity may help provide context around turnover, cash flow and how the business is currently operating.
Forecasts and projections
A lender considering a newer business may want to understand projected income, expenditure and how the proposed mortgage payments are expected to be serviced.
Business plan
The business model, intended property use, market, operating plan and assumptions behind the financial projections may all form part of the assessment.
Deposit or equity
The amount being borrowed relative to the property's value is an important part of commercial underwriting and can influence the available lender options.
Borrower experience
Relevant experience of the directors, owners or investors may provide additional context where the borrowing entity itself has limited trading history.
The commercial property
Property type, location, condition, valuation, intended use and any existing or proposed occupational income can affect how a lender views the case.
Credit and wider commitments
The lender may also review the wider financial position of the applicant, directors or guarantors where relevant to its underwriting criteria.
Commercial mortgage options for new businesses and limited trading history
“No accounts” can describe several very different situations. Identifying which one applies is important because the evidence and lender options may be different.
The business has only recently started trading
A new business may not yet have reached its first financial year end or filed its first statutory accounts.
Some trading history exists, but not a full track record
There may be recent management information or bank activity available even though the historical accounts normally requested by a lender do not yet exist.
The company applying for the mortgage is newly formed
The entity may be new even where the people behind it have previous business, property or sector experience that can be explained as part of the application.
Historic accounts do not reflect the current proposition
A business may have changed ownership, premises, operating model or financial structure, making the current position particularly important to explain clearly.
Documents for a commercial mortgage without filed accounts
You do not need to decide for yourself which lender will accept the case before speaking to Lockwell Finance. Start with the facts and the documents you already have.
From no-accounts enquiry to a realistic finance route
The aim is to understand the full transaction before an application is committed to a particular lender.
Tell us about the property
Start with what you are buying or refinancing, the value, amount required, intended use and timing.
Explain the accounts position
Set out how long the business has traded, why full accounts are unavailable and what financial evidence exists.
Assess the finance route
The case can then be considered in the context of the property, borrower, supporting evidence and lender criteria.
Prepare the application
Where an appropriate route is identified, the required documents, valuation, underwriting and legal stages can move forward.
What if a standard commercial mortgage is not suitable yet?
The correct answer is not always to force the transaction into a commercial mortgage. The property, deadline and intended next step can change which type of finance makes sense.
Commercial mortgage
Where the lender can establish a sufficiently strong case from the property, financial evidence, business proposition and borrower profile, a longer-term commercial mortgage may be considered.
Read the commercial lender criteria guideBridging finance
Where timing, property condition or the need to establish a stronger position before moving onto longer-term finance is central to the deal, a short-term route may be worth assessing instead.
Explore bridging financePrepare before you apply
These wider Lockwell Finance guides explain the commercial mortgage process in more detail without duplicating the specific no-accounts guidance on this page.
Understand the costs before proceeding
The current Lockwell Finance fee structure includes a booking fee on submission and a separate commercial mortgage completion fee.
Commercial mortgage without accounts FAQs
The exact answer always depends on the lender and the complete application, but these are useful starting points.
Can I get a commercial mortgage without full business accounts or financial statements?
Potentially. Not every lender or application will be suitable, but the absence of full filed accounts does not automatically mean there is no route. The lender may need to assess other financial evidence, the property, deposit or equity, borrower experience and the wider business proposition.
Do I still need a deposit if I do not have full accounts?
The accounts position and the deposit or equity position are separate parts of a commercial mortgage assessment. Having limited accounts does not automatically mean a zero-deposit route is available, and deposit requirements vary by lender, property and the wider application. If deposit is the main issue, use our commercial mortgage with no deposit guide.
Can a new business get a commercial mortgage?
A new business may be considered by some lenders, but limited trading history can make the assessment more detailed. The application may need strong supporting information such as a business plan, forecasts, available financial evidence, deposit or equity and relevant experience.
What can I provide instead of full filed accounts?
This depends on the lender. Information that may be relevant can include management figures, business bank statements, cash-flow forecasts, projections, a business plan and details of the applicant's experience. A lender may still require other documentation before making a decision.
Do commercial mortgage lenders always require two or three years of accounts?
There is no single documentation requirement that applies to every lender and every commercial mortgage. Requirements vary according to the lender, property, business, borrower structure, trading history and overall risk assessment.
Does having a larger deposit help if I have no accounts?
Deposit or equity is an important part of a commercial mortgage assessment, but it does not replace every other underwriting requirement. The lender will still consider the wider strength of the case and its own criteria.
Can directors' previous experience help a new company application?
Relevant experience may help provide context where the borrowing entity itself is new, although the weight placed on that experience varies by lender. It should be presented alongside the property details and supporting financial information.
Can I refinance a commercial property without full accounts?
It may be possible depending on the property, current borrowing, available equity, trading position, repayment evidence and lender criteria. The existing finance and purpose of the refinance should be explained at the outset.
Should I use bridging finance instead?
Not automatically. Bridging finance is a short-term product and should only be considered where its purpose, cost, timeframe and exit strategy fit the transaction. A commercial mortgage may still be the better route where the case can support longer-term borrowing.
What should I send Lockwell Finance first?
Start with the property details, purchase price or current value, amount required, available deposit or equity, borrower structure, intended property use, trading history, accounts or financial information available and your target completion date.
No full accounts? Bring us the commercial property deal first.
Share the property, amount required, deposit or equity, borrower structure, trading position and the documents you already have. Lockwell Finance can review the case and explain the realistic next step.
The advice we give is not FCA regulated. Mortgage and finance availability is subject to status, affordability, valuation, lender criteria and underwriting.
Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or another debt secured against it. Information on this page is general and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice.