This edition will be refreshed as late filings arrive. Charges created after 30 June 2026 are still being filed at Companies House, and HM Land Registry registers commercial sales months after completion. Figures for Q3 2026 will rise.
Key findings
- 2,964 commercial property sales worth £4.53bn were registered in London & South East for completions between January and August 2026, at a median price of £467,082. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data (property type Other).
- Commercial property charges registered at Companies House in London & South East were up 4.8% in H1 2026 against H1 2025 (2,520 vs 2,404). Source: Companies House charges register.
- High street banks were the most active classified lender group in London & South East, behind 25.0% of commercial property charges in Jan to Sep 2026. Source: Companies House charges register, CMB lender classification.
- 7,275 commercial property planning applications were submitted in London & South East between January and September 2026, with 87.4% of decided applications granted. Source: Local planning authority records via Landstack.
- The median commercial sale price in London & South East was 49.6% above the England and Wales median of £312,250. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data.
- London & South East ranked 2 of 7 regions for H1 2026 growth in commercial property charges. Source: Companies House charges register.
Commercial property lending in London & South East
Lenders registered 3,491 commercial property charges in London & South East between January and September 2026. The first half of the year is fully filed, and H1 2026 volumes were up 4.8% on H1 2025 (2,520 against 2,404). Charges created from July onwards are still inside the 21-day Companies House filing window at the time of writing, so Q3 2026 counts are provisional and will rise.
High street banks accounted for 25.0% of these charges and specialist and challenger banks for 23.9%. We could match 72.8% of charges to a named lender in our classification. The remainder sit with smaller banks, private lenders and family offices.
The most active named lenders in London & South East from January to August 2026 were Together (225 charges), Barclays (219) and InterBay Funding (197). We compare January to August with the same months of 2025 because September 2026 filings are still arriving.
9.7% of the charges sat behind an existing charge on the same title. That is a useful read on how often owners are raising second-charge borrowing against commercial property rather than refinancing the senior loan.
Separately, property investment companies (SIC 68) registered 27,812 charges in London & South East over the same period that did not match a commercial sale. That book mixes residential buy-to-let and commercial investment, so we report it alongside rather than inside the commercial figure.
Commercial property charges by quarter
Lighter bar: Q3 2026, provisional while the 21-day filing window closes. Source: Companies House charges register.
Share of charges by lender type, Jan to Sep 2026
Most active named lenders, Jan to Aug
| Lender | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Together | 225 | 228 | -1.3% |
| Barclays | 219 | 165 | +32.7% |
| InterBay Funding | 197 | 144 | +36.8% |
| Lloyds | 183 | 206 | -11.2% |
| NatWest | 178 | 193 | -7.8% |
| LendInvest | 160 | 76 | +110.5% |
| Shawbrook Bank | 104 | 73 | +42.5% |
| Handelsbanken | 68 | 63 | +7.9% |
| Paratus AMC | 52 | 25 | +108.0% |
| Allica Bank | 51 | 56 | -8.9% |
Charges registered against property, January to August of each year. Named lenders only.
Charges by borrower sector, Jan to Sep 2026
Commercial property sales and prices in London & South East
HM Land Registry has registered 2,964 commercial property sales in London & South East with completion dates between January and August 2026, worth £4.53bn in total. The median sale price was £467,082, with the middle half of deals between £225,000 and £990,000. 736 sales were at £1m or more.
Commercial registrations run several months behind completions, so these counts will keep rising as the backlog clears. For that reason we do not compare 2026 sales volumes with 2025. Prices are more robust: the median for Jan to Sep 2025 was £432,000 across 9,524 fully registered sales.
Where the registered address identifies the use, industrial and warehouse made up 203 sales, farms and rural made up 116 sales, offices made up 72 sales. Most commercial titles carry only a street address, so the larger share of sales is unclassified.
74.6% of the sales were freehold.
Median sale price by quarter
| Quarter | Sales registered | Median price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 1,660 | £475,000 | £2.59bn |
| Q2 2026 | 991 | £465,000 | £1.39bn |
| Q3 2026 | 313 | £450,000 | £546.9m |
Completions by quarter, as registered so far. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data.
Local authorities with the most commercial sales
Commercial planning pipeline in London & South East
7,275 commercial property planning applications were submitted in London & South East between January and September 2026. Councils decided 6,536 with a granted or refused outcome in the period and granted 87.4% of them.
Quarterly submissions moved from 2,594 in Q3 2025 to 2,252 in Q3 2026. Applications are a forward signal for finance: a granted change of use or new unit usually needs a purchase, refinance or bridging loan within 12 months.
By use, the largest groups were industrial and logistics (1,447), retail and food (1,307), offices (1,280).
A further 5,809 applications sought to convert commercial space to residential use. We exclude these from the commercial pipeline because they remove stock rather than add it.
Applications submitted by quarter
Source: local planning authority records via Landstack.
Applications by commercial use, Jan to Sep 2026
Recent approvals
- Medway · MC/25/2241Demolition of Deangate Greenkeepers warehouse and replacement with shipping containersGranted 30 September 2026
- Barking and Dagenham · 26/00450/FULLConstruction of an electric vehicle charging hub including an ancillary unit providing toilet facilities, a retail area and waiting area; landscaping; and associated worksGranted 30 September 2026
- Barking and Dagenham · 26/00707/FULLConstruction of an electric vehicle charging hub including an ancillary unit providing toilet facilities, a retail area and waiting area; landscaping and associated worksGranted 30 September 2026
- Southwark · 25/AP/2214Change of use of 7no. railway arches from sui generis use [car park] to use class B8 [storage or distribution] and/or use class E(g)(iii) [light industrial] and associated external alteration works including installationGranted 30 September 2026
- West Berkshire · 21/01501/COMINDFormation of equine veterinary hospital complex including the erection of main hospital building housing theatres, treatment rooms, office space. Erection of stable and ancillary buildings, staff accommodation building,Granted 29 September 2026
- Kensington and Chelsea · PP/26/04152Change of use of the Ground floor and Basement level 01 from Office Space Class E(g)(i) (Formerly Class B1) to Open Use Class EGranted 29 September 2026
How London & South East compares with England and Wales
The median commercial sale price in London & South East of £467,082 was 49.6% above the England and Wales median of £312,250.
H1 2026 lending outpaced the national market: +4.8% here against +1.8% for all commercial property charges in England and Wales.
The planning approval rate of 87.4% compares with 86.9% for commercial applications nationally.
Counties and cities
| County | Sales | Median price | Charges | H1 lending change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater London | 1,289 | £550,000 | 1,805 | +2.2% |
| Kent | 369 | £335,000 | 420 | +38.3% |
| Hampshire | 257 | £375,000 | 283 | -4.3% |
| Berkshire | 150 | £450,000 | 191 | -7.6% |
| Oxfordshire | 117 | £525,000 | 115 | +15.3% |
| Buckinghamshire | 143 | £448,869 | 152 | +20.5% |
| East Sussex | 215 | £382,000 | 195 | +57.7% |
| Surrey | 201 | £515,500 | 153 | -41.8% |
| West Sussex | 176 | £472,560 | 135 | +4.3% |
Join our newsletter to receive the next London & South East report
We publish fresh commercial property lending, sales and planning data every quarter. Our newsletter brings each new report to your inbox, with the headline figures for your area and sector.
Cite and download
Journalists, researchers and analysts are welcome to use these figures. Please credit Commercial Mortgages Broker and link to this page.
Methodology and sources
Sales: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, property type "Other", which covers non-residential sales in England and Wales. Rows that share a price and date are counted as one multi-title deal. Data registered to 25 August 2026.
Lending: the Companies House charges register (snapshot 1 October 2026). A charge counts as commercial when it is secured on a property postcode and either the borrower operates in a commercial sector (for example hotels, pubs, care, retail, manufacturing or logistics, by SIC code) or the postcode matches a commercial sale in 2025 or 2026. Lenders are grouped using our own classification.
Planning: local planning authority records collated by Landstack, filtered to applications whose description indicates a commercial use. Discharge of conditions, advertisement consents, householder works and conversions to residential are excluded. Records cover 253 councils; where a council's applications are not yet collated, its pipeline is understated.
Geography: regions follow postcode districts. County reports cover the ceremonial county including its unitary authorities. City reports cover the local authority area named on each page. Scotland and Northern Ireland are outside HM Land Registry coverage and are not included.
Commercial mortgages are unregulated lending and fall outside the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter. We do not hold FCA authorisation because the products we arrange are unregulated. This report is market information, not advice.