The honest answer to whether you can get a 100% commercial mortgage is that no mainstream lender offers one. There is no product on the market where you walk in with nothing and walk out owning a commercial property funded entirely by the bank. Commercial mortgages typically cap at 75% loan-to-value, meaning a 25% deposit as standard, and lenders manage their risk through that equity cushion.
That said, buying with no cash deposit of your own is achievable in specific circumstances. The distinction that matters is between a 100% mortgage, which does not exist, and 100% funding of a purchase, which does. The difference lies in where the deposit comes from. If the deposit is provided by something other than cash you have set aside, most often equity in another property, you can complete a purchase without putting fresh money in.
There are four realistic routes to this, each with its own criteria and risks. This guide walks through all four honestly, including where the marketing gloss falls away and the practical limits bite. None of them is a free lunch, and all of them increase your exposure, so understanding the trade-offs is as important as knowing the routes exist.
Before you pursue any of them, it is worth being clear about what you actually have to work with, because the right route depends entirely on your circumstances. Equity in another property points to one route, a strong trading business to another, and a willing seller or partner to a third. Very few buyers qualify for all four, and some qualify for none, in which case saving a conventional deposit remains the simplest path.
Why There Is No Mainstream 100% Product
Commercial property is slower to sell and more volatile in value than residential, and commercial lending is unregulated lending that falls outside the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter. Lenders protect themselves with equity: if they have to repossess and sell, the deposit absorbs the fall in value and the cost of a sale that can take a year or more. Lending 100% against a single commercial property removes that cushion entirely, which is why no mainstream lender does it.
So when you see a 100% commercial mortgage advertised, it almost always means one of the routes below, where additional security or unusual deal structure supplies the equity the lender still requires. The lender is not taking on an uncovered loan, the cover is simply coming from somewhere other than your cash.
Route 1: Additional Security Over Other Property
This is the most common way to buy with no cash deposit, and the most reliable. If you own another property with equity in it, a lender can take a charge over that property as well as the one you are buying. The equity in your existing asset serves as the deposit.
How It Works
Say you are buying a commercial property for 400,000 and the lender will offer 75% loan-to-value, or 300,000. Normally you would need a 100,000 cash deposit. Instead, if you own a property worth 300,000 with only 150,000 owed on it, the lender can take additional security over that 150,000 of equity. That equity covers the deposit, and the lender advances the full 400,000 across the two properties, keeping its overall loan-to-value across both within its comfort zone.
The Trade-Off
You have not avoided risk, you have spread it. Both properties are now securing the debt, so if you default, both are exposed. This route also relies on you genuinely owning a property with sufficient equity, whether residential, commercial, or buy-to-let, that a lender will accept as cross-charged security. Our [high LTV commercial mortgage guide](/knowledge-hub/high-ltv-commercial-mortgage) covers how far this can be stretched.
Route 2: Strong Trading Business Buying Its Premises
Some lenders will stretch loan-to-value for an owner-occupier with genuinely strong trading figures. The logic is that a highly profitable business buying its own premises is a lower risk than an investor buying to let, because the business itself services the debt from trading income rather than relying on tenant rent.
How It Works
For a strong owner-occupier, a handful of lenders will consider loan-to-value above the usual 75%, occasionally reaching 80% to 85% where the EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) comfortably covers the payments with significant headroom. That does not reach 100% on its own, but combined with a genuine below-market purchase or a small additional security, it can close the remaining gap. Owner-occupier rates typically sit in the 6.0-7.5% range, and trading business deals in the 7.0-9.0% range depending on the strength of the covenant.
The Trade-Off
This only works for genuinely strong businesses. The serviceability test is demanding: the trading profit must cover the mortgage with real headroom, not just scrape over the line. A business stretching its finances to buy premises with no deposit is exactly the profile lenders are wary of, so the figures have to be convincing.
Route 3: Discounted or Below-Market-Value Purchase
This route is widely misunderstood, so it is worth being precise. The theory is that if you buy a property worth 500,000 for 400,000, the 100,000 discount is instant equity that could serve as your deposit. In practice, lenders lend on the lower of purchase price and valuation, which changes everything.
The Nuance That Catches People Out
Most lenders lend against the price you actually pay, not the value you claim you are getting. If you buy at 400,000, the lender treats 400,000 as the figure and lends 75% of it, or 300,000, so you still need 100,000. The paper discount does not become usable deposit just because the property is worth more.
A minority of lenders will, in specific circumstances such as a genuine distressed sale, a probate sale, or a purchase from a connected party at arm's length, consider lending against the higher valuation. Where they do, the difference between price and value can reduce or eliminate the cash deposit. But this is the exception, requires a defensible reason for the discount, and the valuer must agree the true value is genuinely higher. Do not build a purchase plan around it without confirming a lender will treat it this way first.
Route 4: Vendor Finance or Joint Venture Equity
The fourth route brings in someone else's money to cover the deposit, either the seller or a partner.
Vendor Finance
Here the seller defers part of the purchase price. If a vendor accepts 350,000 now and 50,000 over the following two years, that deferred slice can function as your deposit, letting a commercial mortgage fund the rest. Lenders that permit this usually require the vendor finance to sit behind the mortgage and be unsecured against the property. Not every lender allows it, and the seller has to be willing, so it suits motivated vendors rather than open-market sales.
Joint Venture Equity
Alternatively, a partner provides the deposit in exchange for a share of the property and its returns. You contribute the deal, the management, or your trading business, and they contribute the capital. Many commercial portfolios began exactly this way. The critical element is a clear agreement covering ownership, profit share, decision-making, and exit, drawn up before completion rather than after.
What Lenders Want to See Before Funding a Full Purchase
Whatever the route, a lender agreeing to fund a purchase without a cash deposit is taking on more risk or more complexity than usual, and it protects itself by scrutinising the case harder. A few things consistently make the difference between a no-deposit deal being agreed and being declined.
Strong Serviceability
The higher the borrowing, the more important it is that the income comfortably covers the payments. Where you are funding 100% of a purchase, there is no equity buffer, so lenders lean even harder on serviceability. An owner-occupier needs trading profit that covers the mortgage with clear headroom, and an investment needs rental cover comfortably above the lender's interest cover ratio. Weak serviceability sinks a no-deposit case faster than anything else.
Genuine, Acceptable Security
For the additional-security route, the property being cross-charged has to be one the lender will accept and has to hold real, verifiable equity. A property already heavily mortgaged, subject to a dispute, or of a type the lender will not take offers little useful security. The cleaner and more valuable the additional asset, the more readily a lender will lend against it.
A Clear, Documented Story
No-deposit structures raise questions, so pre-empting them helps. A below-market purchase needs a defensible reason the valuer will accept. Vendor finance needs the seller's written agreement to sit behind the mortgage. A joint venture needs a signed agreement setting out ownership and exit. Presenting this upfront, rather than leaving the underwriter to ask, keeps the case moving.
Clean or Explained Credit
Because the lender is stretching, credit history carries extra weight. Clean credit makes these routes far easier. Adverse credit does not necessarily rule them out, but it narrows the lenders willing to combine a no-deposit structure with an imperfect file, and it pushes pricing higher.
Eligibility for 100% Borrowing: Who Actually Qualifies
Eligibility for funding a full purchase is much narrower than for a standard commercial mortgage, because the lender is stretching beyond its usual comfort zone. In practice, three types of buyer tend to qualify, and it is worth being honest about whether your business or your circumstances fit one of them before you build a plan around no deposit.
The first is a trading business with strong filed accounts. A profitable business with two or three years of clean accounts, and a business that clearly earns enough to service the borrowing, is the profile lenders are most comfortable stretching for, because the business income does the heavy lifting rather than a deposit. The second is an established property investor with unencumbered assets, where the equity in a property owned outright supplies the deposit and the lender's overall exposure stays sensible. The third is a buyer who can offer genuine additional security, whether a business asset or another property, that the lender will accept and value.
Whatever the profile, the checks are more searching than usual, and understanding how it works upfront saves wasted effort. Expect a lender to want two to three years of business accounts, personal and business bank statements, and a credible business plan for the premises that sets out how the business will trade from them and cover the payments. Eligibility here is not a box-ticking exercise, it is the lender satisfying itself that the business case genuinely stands up without the cushion a deposit would normally provide, so a strong, well-documented business is the single biggest thing that gets a no-deposit case over the line.
Interest Rates, Repayment and Costs at High Leverage
Borrowing at the top of the range costs more than borrowing at a conventional loan-to-value, and it helps to go in with a clear picture of how the numbers work. Higher leverage means higher interest rates, though still within the standard bands rather than beyond them: an owner-occupier deal stays in the 6.0-7.5% range and a trading business deal in the 7.0-9.0% range, but a no-deposit structure sits toward the upper end of whichever band applies, because the lender is pricing for the extra risk. Where a second charge or bridging element is involved, part of the borrowing may carry a bridging rate of 8.5-11.0% per annum, so the blended interest cost can be higher again.
Repayment is stressed hard at application. With no equity buffer, the lender tests whether the business income can still cover the repayment if interest rates rise, so the affordability calculation is less forgiving than on a lower-leverage deal. A business whose serviceability only just works at today's interest rates will struggle to pass that stress test, which is why strong, demonstrable business income matters so much at this level of borrowing.
The costs to budget for are also larger, because a no-deposit structure usually involves two properties rather than one. Expect a valuation on both securities, legal costs on each charge, and an arrangement fee on the facility, typically around 1% to 2% of the loan. Add these together and the total cost of borrowing is meaningfully higher than on a conventional deal. That total is the figure to weigh against the alternative of saving a deposit for longer: sometimes the interest and costs of borrowing everything now outweigh the benefit of buying sooner, and sometimes they do not, but a business can only judge that once the full cost is on the table. You can model the interest and repayment against your business income with our [commercial mortgage calculators](/calculators) before you apply.
The Risks of 100% Borrowing
Buying with no deposit of your own is powerful, but it magnifies risk in ways worth taking seriously.
- No equity buffer: With nothing of your own in the deal, a fall in property value can leave you in negative equity quickly, and refinancing becomes difficult if values dip.
- Higher payments: Borrowing 100% rather than 75% means a larger loan and larger monthly payments, tightening serviceability just when you have least margin for error.
- Two assets at risk: Where the deposit comes from additional security, a default puts both properties in jeopardy, not just the one you are buying.
- Tighter criteria and pricing: These routes involve fewer lenders and often higher rates, because the lender is taking on more risk or a more complex structure.
You can model the payments and stress-test the numbers with our [commercial mortgage calculators](/calculators) before committing, and it is worth comparing the cost against a conventional deposit-backed deal in our [commercial mortgage deposit guide](/knowledge-hub/commercial-mortgage-deposit-guide).
Is a No-Deposit Purchase Right for You?
There is no mainstream 100% commercial mortgage, but there are genuine routes to funding a full purchase: additional security over property you own, exceptional owner-occupier trading strength, a genuine below-market purchase a lender will value up, and vendor finance or joint venture equity. Each supplies the deposit the lender still requires from a source other than your own cash, and each increases your exposure in return.
The right route, if any, depends on what you have available: equity in another property, a strong trading business, a motivated vendor, or a willing partner. If you are weighing this against a bridging route to move quickly, our [bridging versus commercial mortgage guide](/knowledge-hub/bridging-vs-commercial-mortgage) sets out the difference, and our [LTV explained guide](/knowledge-hub/commercial-mortgage-ltv-explained) covers how lenders think about loan-to-value. To find out which of these routes is realistic for your situation, [contact us](/contact) or read more about our [commercial mortgages service](/services/commercial-mortgages).
*Written by Matt Lenzie, Founder of Commercial Mortgages Broker. Ex-Lloyds Bank & Bank of Scotland.*