Methodology

Every Thursday this site publishes a fresh band per UK commercial mortgage product. Below is how the bands are compiled, what they mean, and what they explicitly are not.

The panel

We compile bands from publicly disclosed product pricing and broker panel commentary across the active UK commercial mortgage lender market. The named-and-bolded lenders on the snapshot page are the eight where Commercial Mortgages Broker has direct working relationships and explicit permission to name:

• Shawbrook, InterBay Commercial, LendInvest, Cynergy Bank on specialist commercial.
• Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Santander on relationship-led mid-market and corporate banking.

Beyond that named eight, the wider tracked panel includes Allica, Aldermore, Cambridge & Counties, HTB, Hampshire Trust Bank, Paragon, Reliance Bank, Recognise, Handelsbanken, YBS Commercial and a long tail of building societies and challenger banks that quote on UK commercial mortgages. None of those appear in bold copy because we have not asked permission to use their brand.

Bridging-only and development-finance-only lenders (Octane, MT Finance, Hope Capital, Maslow, Avamore, Atelier and similar) are not part of this commercial mortgage tracker. They are a different product family.

Reference rates

Three reference rates run alongside the bands.

• Bank of England Bank Rate. The Monetary Policy Committee meets eight times a year. Bank Rate is the floor for SONIA and the anchor for variable-rate commercial mortgages.
• SONIA. The Sterling Overnight Index Average, published by the Bank of England. The reference rate for nearly every UK variable-rate commercial mortgage facility.
• 5-year Gilt yield. Published by the UK Debt Management Office at close of day. Most 5-year fixed commercial mortgages are funded against the 5-year Gilt curve. When the Gilt moves, 5-year fix pricing moves with it inside two to four weeks. The Gilt curve matters more to commercial mortgages than it does to development finance, which is why we publish it here.

Why ranges, not midpoints

UK commercial mortgage pricing is dispersed. The same building can be quoted 100 to 200 basis points apart by two different lenders depending on borrower covenant, ICR cover headroom, lease quality, sector, property location and loan size. A single average rate would hide that dispersion and give a false sense of a tight market.

The bottom of each band is what a strong borrower on a clean case genuinely lands at. The top is where less vanilla deals price. Your rate sits somewhere on the line, and where exactly is a function of cover, covenant and sector.

What DSCR, ICR and debt yield mean here

Each product card on the front page carries a cover ratio expectation. Three terms, used consistently:

• DSCR (Debt Service Cover Ratio). Net operating income divided by annual debt service. Used on owner-occupier trading freeholds and trading-business mortgages. Lender comfort: 1.30x to 1.60x.
• ICR (Interest Cover Ratio). Stressed annual rent divided by stressed annual interest. Used on investment property. Lender comfort: 140% to 175%.
• Debt yield. Net operating income divided by loan amount. The lender's protection against ICR being flattered by a temporarily low rate. UK commercial lender comfort: 8.5% to 10.5% on investment.

Update cadence

The snapshot refreshes every Thursday. Bands only move when at least three lenders on the tracked panel adjust published pricing in the same direction inside a four-week window. This is deliberately lagged. Real consensus movement is more useful than chatter.

The May MPC and the next set of major-lender H1 results are the next two scheduled signals likely to move bands. We will write up both when they land.

Movement labels

• v tighter. The bottom or top of the band has moved lower in the past four to eight weeks.
• = flat. No material movement in either direction.
• ^ higher. The bottom or top has moved up in the past four to eight weeks.

What this is not

These bands are not quotes. They are not underwritten. They are not advice. Your actual rate depends on the specifics of the deal, and no two lender panels are identical. Use the tracker to understand where the UK commercial mortgage market sits today and to sense-check live quotes. Speak to a commercial mortgage broker to actually transact.

Editorial independence and regulation

The Rate Tracker is editorial. Lenders do not pay to be included and have no pre-approval over what we publish. Commercial Mortgages Broker (CMB Finance Ltd) is the publisher. Commercial mortgages are unregulated lending and fall outside the Financial Conduct Authority's regulated mortgage perimeter. The broker does not hold FCA authorisation because the products it arranges are unregulated. Where a deal would require FCA authorisation we refer the enquiry to a regulated firm.