Leisure Industry Mortgages

We have over 60 years experience dealing with the Leisure Industry, supplying finance and mortgages for hotels, fitness centres, restaurants and even self catering accommodation businesses. We have access to specialist leisure industry mortgage lenders that are happy to help with all types of financial investments within this industry.

Leisure Industry Mortgages – The Basics

The UK’s leisure, tourism and hospitality sector is estimated to be worth around £200 billion. It employs more than 2.6 million people and is responsible for around 8.6 percent of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP). This area continues to expand and an increasing number of business opportunities are becoming available.

The sector can be difficult to categorise because there is often significant overlap between different areas. It can be subdivided into two broad divisions, the catering and licensed trades and other leisure businesses.

Examples of leisure businesses include:

• Visitor attractions and theme parks
• Leisure centres, gyms and fitness clubs
• Sports clubs (including golf clubs and riding schools)
• Holiday parks
• Self-catering holiday accommodation

What is a Leisure Industry Mortgage? 

A leisure industry mortgage is a commercial mortgage used to purchase a leisure, tourism or hospitality based business property. This type of mortgage is usually arranged by specialist brokers. Borrowers can expect to pay between 2 and 4 percent above Bank of England base rate, depending on the nature of the business and their financial position.

Lenders will usually be willing to offer up to 70 percent of the value of some leisure business properties, for a period of up to 30 years. In most cases, both repayment and interest only mortgage options are available. Mortgages are available for both owner-managers and investors in tenanted properties.

Visitor Attractions

When you say visitor attraction or theme park to most people, they usually think large scale, something like Alton Towers, Legoland or Longleat. However, many smaller visitor attractions offer promising business opportunities, especially if they are located in tourist areas. Some are attractions in their own right. Examples include:

• Stately homes and gardens
• Amusement parks
• Amusement arcades
• Rare breeds centres

Other visitor attractions are rural or craft businesses where tourists are willing to pay to watch artisans and crafts people working, for example:

• Potteries
• Windmills
• Watermills
• Vineyards

Summary

• Potential business opportunities in the leisure sector are continuing to increase
• Leisure industry mortgages are available to both owner-managers and investors
• The variety of visitor attractions being developed is expanding