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
- 1,498 commercial property sales worth £942.4m were registered in North West for completions between January and August 2026, at a median price of £243,000. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data (property type Other).
- Commercial property charges registered at Companies House in North West were down 8.3% in H1 2026 against H1 2025 (1,032 vs 1,125). Source: Companies House charges register.
- Bridging and short-term lenders were the most active classified lender group in North West, behind 30.7% of commercial property charges in Jan to Sep 2026. Source: Companies House charges register, CMB lender classification.
- 1,957 commercial property planning applications were submitted in North West between January and September 2026, with 86.2% of decided applications granted. Source: Local planning authority records via Landstack.
- The median commercial sale price in North West was 22.2% below the England and Wales median of £312,250. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data.
- North West recorded the weakest H1 2026 change in commercial property charges of the 7 regions we track. Source: Companies House charges register.
Commercial property lending in North West
Lenders registered 1,464 commercial property charges in North West between January and September 2026. The first half of the year is fully filed, and H1 2026 volumes were down 8.3% on H1 2025 (1,032 against 1,125). 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.
Bridging and short-term lenders accounted for 30.7% of these charges and specialist and challenger banks for 23.0%. We could match 76.4% 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 North West from January to August 2026 were Together (224 charges), NatWest (81) and Barclays (75). We compare January to August with the same months of 2025 because September 2026 filings are still arriving.
9.4% 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 16,257 charges in North West 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 | 224 | 283 | -20.8% |
| NatWest | 81 | 102 | -20.6% |
| Barclays | 75 | 75 | 0.0% |
| Charles Street | 57 | 57 | 0.0% |
| Aldermore Bank | 51 | 47 | +8.5% |
| Handelsbanken | 51 | 19 | +168.4% |
| Shawbrook Bank | 46 | 33 | +39.4% |
| Lloyds | 40 | 46 | -13.0% |
| InterBay Funding | 35 | 44 | -20.5% |
| Hampshire Trust Bank | 24 | 18 | +33.3% |
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 North West
HM Land Registry has registered 1,498 commercial property sales in North West with completion dates between January and August 2026, worth £942.4m in total. The median sale price was £243,000, with the middle half of deals between £125,000 and £500,000. 150 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 £220,000 across 4,836 fully registered sales.
Where the registered address identifies the use, industrial and warehouse made up 109 sales, farms and rural made up 70 sales, offices made up 32 sales. Most commercial titles carry only a street address, so the larger share of sales is unclassified.
71.0% of the sales were freehold.
Median sale price by quarter
| Quarter | Sales registered | Median price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 825 | £248,000 | £599.3m |
| Q2 2026 | 540 | £240,000 | £289.4m |
| Q3 2026 | 133 | £240,000 | £53.7m |
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 North West
1,957 commercial property planning applications were submitted in North West between January and September 2026. Councils decided 1,770 with a granted or refused outcome in the period and granted 86.2% of them.
Quarterly submissions moved from 749 in Q3 2025 to 528 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 retail and food (376), change of use (commercial) (328), industrial and logistics (323).
A further 1,237 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
- Warrington · 2026/00507/FULVehicle repair centre including roof mounted extraction equipment (chimneys and flues), additional Solar PV roof mounted panels, ancillary enclosure, layout amendments, new foul drainage, new gate, and refuse storage.Granted 30 September 2026
- Hyndburn · 11/26/0208Full: Change of use from storage warehouse (Use Class B8) to commercial bakery (Use Class B2) with associated external alterations, including installation of dock pods, silos, external plant, flues and vents, fencing, gaGranted 30 September 2026
- Burnley · PA/2026/0315Change of use of underground car parks and basement to data centreGranted 30 September 2026
- Cheshire East · 26/2304/FULProposed transition of The Narrowboat into a multi-use town-centre asset comprising Sports Club/Gym on the ground floor and mezzanine. The mezzanine will have unto 3 m extension. And to continue the use as guest house onGranted 30 September 2026
- Bolton · 00978/26EXTERNAL ALTERATIONS TO EXISTING INDUSTRIAL BUILDING INCLUDING REPLACEMENT FENESTRATION CLADDING AND INSTALLATION OF ROOF MOUNTED SOLAR PANELS TOGETHER WITH THE FORMATION OF OFFICE SPACE AND DEMOLITION OF ANCILLARY INDUSGranted 29 September 2026
- Westmorland and Furness · 2026/0397/FPAConstruction of 7 commercial units for use classes B2, B8 and E(g), including access and associated works.Granted 29 September 2026
How North West compares with England and Wales
The median commercial sale price in North West of £243,000 was 22.2% below the England and Wales median of £312,250.
H1 2026 lending lagged the national market: -8.3% here against +1.8% for all commercial property charges in England and Wales.
The planning approval rate of 86.2% compares with 86.9% for commercial applications nationally.
Counties and cities
| County | Sales | Median price | Charges | H1 lending change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Manchester | 496 | £260,000 | 544 | +0.3% |
| Merseyside | 244 | £187,500 | 265 | -31.4% |
| Lancashire | 363 | £226,000 | 339 | +6.7% |
| Cheshire | 210 | £322,500 | 185 | -7.8% |
| Cumbria | 185 | £225,000 | 129 | -11.9% |
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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.