Semi-Commercial Mortgages Portsmouth
Single-facility commercial mortgages for the shop-with-flat-above archetype and other residential-commercial mixed assets where residential floorspace is 40%+. Up to 75% LTV. Blended ICR around 145%. Mid-2026 rates 6.5 to 8.5% pa. We arrange the unregulated cases (let residential element); cases where the borrower or family member occupies the flat fall under the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter and we refer those out to a regulated broker.
LTV
70 to 75%
Cover test
Blended ICR 140 to 150%
Rate range
6.5 to 8.5% pa
Facility
£150K to £2M
Underwriting a Portsmouth semi-commercial commercial mortgage
Semi-commercial is the term for commercial mortgages on mixed-use property where the residential element is at least 40% of total floorspace, typically the classic shop-with-flat-above archetype that defines Portsmouth's parade network, from Albert Road through to Cosham High Street. The product gives lenders comfort from the residential security (easier to re-let an empty flat than an empty retail unit), so semi-commercial routinely prices 50 to 100bps inside pure commercial investment on the same building.
There is one structural complication every borrower must understand. Commercial mortgages are unregulated by definition and fall outside the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter, which is what we arrange. If the borrower or an immediate family member personally occupies the residential element, the deal moves inside the regulated mortgage perimeter and stops being a commercial mortgage. We do not hold FCA authorisation because the products we arrange are unregulated, so where a deal falls into regulated territory we refer it to a regulated mortgage broker partner. We flag this at outset rather than discover it three weeks into legals. The classic case: the independent retailer who buys the freehold of their Albert Road shop and lives in the flat above sits inside the regulated perimeter; the same building bought as an investment with the flat let on an AST sits inside our unregulated commercial scope.
Active Portsmouth semi-commercial spines: Albert Road (PO5) the densest central independent F&B and retail cluster in Southsea. Osborne Road (PO5) the secondary Southsea spine closer to the seafront with a stronger leisure overlay. Cosham High Street (PO6) the northern district-centre spine, classic Victorian shop-plus-flat stock. Commercial Road parade (PO1) the central city-centre spine, the densest large-cap semi-commercial frontage in the city. Most semi-commercial deals are £200K to £900K facility size. Worked example: an Albert Road shop with two flats above, £575K valuation, retail let on a 10-year FRI to a national coffee covenant, both flats let on ASTs (unregulated, in our scope). InterBay Commercial placed at 75% LTV, 6.95% pa on a 5-year fix, 25-year term, blended ICR 148%. Worked example two: a Cosham High Street shop-plus-three-flats with all flats let on ASTs to arms-length tenants, £745K, placed via Together at 70% LTV, 8.25% pa, blended ICR 145%.
See our dedicated semi-commercial service page for the product mechanics in detail. For purely residential blocks above commercial, see HMO blocks; for predominantly-commercial buildings with smaller residential elements, see mixed-use.
Semi-commercial assets we fund
Shop with one or two flats above
Classic Portsmouth parade archetype. Albert Road PO5, Osborne Road PO5, Cosham High Street PO6, Commercial Road PO1, North End PO2.
Restaurant or pub with operator flat (let)
Operator flat above licensed-trade premises let on AST. Sits as unregulated commercial. Owner-occupied flat cases fall outside our scope, referred to a regulated broker.
Office with residential conversion above
Office at ground or first floor with residential floors above (post-Class E to mixed change-of-use, common across the Southsea Class E sub-division pipeline).
Vacant semi-commercial acquisition
Bridge-to-let funded acquisition with refurbishment and re-letting both elements before term-out.
Multi-flat above commercial
Larger semi-commercial blocks with 3 to 5 flats above ground-floor retail. Specialist underwriting on blended ICR.
Heritage and conservation conversions
Listed-building semi-commercial; heritage-comfortable lenders only. Old Portsmouth Spice Island and High Street stock.
Finance structures for Portsmouth semi-commercial
Single-facility semi-commercial commercial mortgage is the primary route on unregulated cases (residential element let on AST or to a limited-company tenant). Bridge-to-let funds vacant acquisition with agreed exit onto term semi-commercial. Cases where the borrower or family member will occupy the residential element fall outside the unregulated commercial scope, we refer those to a regulated mortgage broker partner.
Owner-occupier commercial mortgage
Where the borrower's business trades from the property, EBITDA cover at 1.3 to 1.5x.
Commercial investment mortgage
Let assets, ICR-led underwriting at 140 to 160% stressed cover.
Commercial bridge-to-let
Vacant or value-add acquisition with agreed term-out onto investment mortgage.
Commercial remortgage
End-of-fix or capital raise on existing assets.
The Portsmouth semi-commercial estate
A deep, active product across Portsmouth. The classic parade spines, Albert Road PO5, Osborne Road PO5, Cosham High Street PO6, Commercial Road parade PO1 and North End PO2, all run on shop-plus-flat-above stock dating from the 1880s through the 1930s. Heritage stock in Old Portsmouth and around Spice Island adds further depth with listed-building considerations. Recent change-of-use activity along Commercial Road and the Southsea Class E sub-division pipeline (the 26/00342/FUL archetype sub-dividing Class E buildings with residential additions) has been creating new semi-commercial profiles as upper floors are retained or converted to flats. The semi-commercial market trades steadily across Portsmouth, these assets rarely sit vacant for long because the residential element is intrinsically lettable given the city's housing stock pressure, the tightly-bounded island geography limiting new supply, and the University of Portsmouth student catchment anchoring tenant demand.
Lender appetite for Portsmouth semi-commercial
Strong on the unregulated cases we arrange. <strong>InterBay Commercial</strong> (OSB Group) is the most active named lender on the Portsmouth shop-plus-flat archetype, typical 7.5 to 8.25% pa at 70 to 75% LTV. Together covers more challenged cases (vacant flat at acquisition, weaker commercial covenant) at 8.25 to 9.0% pa. <strong>Shawbrook</strong>, Aldermore, YBS Commercial, HTB, Hampshire Trust Bank (locally HQ'd, strong on Portsmouth) and Cambridge & Counties all have meaningful semi-commercial appetite on let residential cases. Each has a distinct LTV / minimum-loan / covenant profile, we know which fits what. Cases that fall inside the regulated mortgage perimeter (owner-occupied residential element) are out of scope for us and we refer those to a regulated broker.
Semi-Commercial FAQs
Developing a semi-commercial scheme in Portsmouth?
Free-of-charge scheme assessment. Indicative terms within 48 hours.