£7.53/sq ft
Avg multi-let rent (Scotland)
Lothian
Specialist Light Industrial Finance in Edinburgh
Funding for industrial units, workshops and multi-let estates in Edinburgh: commercial mortgages, acquisition finance, bridging, development, mezzanine and long-term debt.
Written and reviewed by Matt Lenzie Founder & Principal Broker · 25 years arranging commercial property finance
6%
Prime multi-let yield (Scotland)
9.4%
Industrial vacancy (UK, MSCI)
Edinburgh sits in Lothian, within the Scotland industrial market. Light Industrial Finance arranges funding for industrial units, workshops and multi-let estates across Lothian. We arrange acquisition finance, commercial mortgages, bridging, development finance, mezzanine and term debt on industrial property in Edinburgh, for owner-occupiers, investors and developers, and place each deal with the lenders that genuinely back the sector.
Every facility we arrange is grounded in the market evidence. Multi-let rents in the region average around £7.53/sq ft (Scotland multi-let average, Gerald Eve (Newmark), Multi-Let Winter bulletin 2024, Q3 2024), with prime Scotland estates at £15/sq ft (Gerald Eve (Newmark), Multi-Let Winter bulletin 2024, Q3 2024) and prime equivalent yields around 6% (Gerald Eve (Newmark), Multi-Let Winter bulletin 2024, Q3 2024). We then underwrite the specific Edinburgh property, its income and its occupier demand, on its own merits.
Commercial mortgages on Edinburgh industrial units
A commercial mortgage is the core way to buy or refinance an industrial unit in Edinburgh. For investors, lenders size the loan against the rent: typically up to around 65 to 70 percent loan to value, tested so the net rental income covers the interest with a clear margin, with the tenancy schedule, the estimated rental value and the re-letting depth of the Edinburgh market all part of the assessment. For owner-occupiers buying their own premises the loan is underwritten on the trading business instead, its accounts and its debt service cover, and can reach around 70 to 80 percent for established firms. Terms run from 5 to 25 years. We place each facility with the lender that prices Edinburgh industrial property best across Lothian.
Workshops, trade counters and multi-let estates across Lothian
Each property type is underwritten differently. We arrange finance for workshops and light industrial units, trade counters, multi-let industrial estates, hybrid and flex space, small warehouses and open storage yards in Edinburgh and across Lothian. A fully let estate of small units with dozens of SME tenancies and a single vacant workshop bought at auction are credit-assessed in very different ways, and knowing which lender backs each format is the work we do before a deal reaches credit. Multi-let estates carry short leases that re-gear to market quickly, which lenders read as reversionary income, while trade counters lean on the covenant strength of national trade brands.
Finance we arrange in Edinburgh
How much you can borrow against Edinburgh industrial property
On an industrial investment in Edinburgh, a commercial mortgage usually reaches around 65 to 70 percent of value, so you would budget for equity of roughly a third of the price plus stamp duty and costs. The figure is driven by the quality of the income, the tenants, the unexpired lease terms and the condition of the unit, not the postcode. Vacant or part-let property is funded differently: bridging finance secures an auction purchase or a unit awaiting letting, typically to around 70 to 75 percent of value from around 0.75 percent per month, and development or refurbishment finance funds works to around 65 to 75 percent of cost, with mezzanine stretching the stack where the scheme supports it. Interest rates depend on the lender, the leverage and the income profile, so we quote them deal by deal rather than as a headline rate. We size the right facility, rate and equity requirement for your Edinburgh deal.
Where industrial property trades in Edinburgh
Edinburgh's Old and New Towns have held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1995, and each summer the city stages the Fringe, the largest annual arts festival in the world. Edinburgh, known to many as Auld Reekie, is served by M8 J1, M9 J1 and A1, the kind of road access that drives occupier demand for industrial units and supports the rents an estate can sustain. Occupiers here draw staff and customers from across the town, from Old Town, New Town, Leith and Morningside, the catchment a lender weighs when it considers re-letting risk. Planning applications for industrial use, including change of use within Class B2, B8 and E(g), are determined by City of Edinburgh. Multi-let landlords with estates in or around Edinburgh include Indurent and Flexspace, a sign of institutional confidence in the catchment. Indurent's South Gyle Industrial Estate is one of the city's established multi-let pitches, and Flexspace runs an Edinburgh centre.
Edinburgh industrial market profile
- Planning authorityCity of Edinburgh
- Road accessM8 J1, M9 J1, A1, A720, A8
- Landlords presentIndurent, Flexspace
Location facts and Land Registry data. Market figures shown are national or Scotland-level, not Edinburgh-specific.
The Scotland industrial market
Edinburgh is a prime industrial catchment within Scotland. Dense occupier demand, constrained land supply and competition from last-mile and trade users support strong rents on well-let estates, and lenders compete hardest for stabilised multi-let income here. Vacant or secondary units are funded on more cautious terms, with the business plan and the borrower doing the work.
The central belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh holds most of Scotland's multi-let stock, with Edinburgh's £15.00 per sq ft prime benchmark set by the Capital Park scheme in 2024.
Edinburgh prime multi-let rents stepped up to £15.00 per sq ft in Q2 2024 when Capital Park completed, setting a new Scottish benchmark, while Glasgow stands at £12.00 on a national all-grades average of £7.53 (Gerald Eve, Q3 2024). Gerald Eve forecasts Scottish prime rental growth of 6.1 percent a year over 2023 to 2028, among the strongest in the UK, because the development pipeline is just 230,000 sq ft with nothing under construction at end-2024 and trade counters occupy 30.1 percent of space, the highest share anywhere. The 6.00 percent prime equivalent yield offers roughly 75 basis points over comparable English regional stock. Newmark's Winter Bulletin 2025 flagged Scotland among the regions where occupier activity strengthened through 2025. We fund central-belt estates and Aberdeen energy-supply-chain assets, and we structure around Scottish title and lease idiosyncrasies as a matter of course.
Market commentary and figures for Scotland are drawn from Gerald Eve (a Newmark company) (Multi-Let, Winter bulletin, 2024); Newmark (Multi-Let, Winter Bulletin, 2025).
Sources and methodology
Industrial market figures are published nationally or regionally, not per town, so the rents, vacancy and yields on this page are presented as context for a Edinburgh appraisal and attributed to their sources (Gerald Eve (Newmark), Multi-Let Winter bulletin 2024; MSCI UK Quarterly Property Index, Q4 2025 results). Town-level facts are different: road access, the named estates, the planning authority, the landlords present are genuinely local and sourced. We do not publish a Edinburgh-specific rent or yield as if it were measured. Nationally the multi-let industrial market runs to 500m+ sq ft of space (Gerald Eve (Newmark), Multi-Let, Winter bulletin 2024).
FAQ
Light industrial finance in Edinburgh: common questions
Can you get a mortgage on an industrial unit in Edinburgh?
Yes. An industrial unit in Edinburgh is financed with a commercial mortgage rather than a residential loan. We arrange them for owner-occupiers buying their own premises, underwritten on the trading business, and for investors buying let units or estates, underwritten on the rent, typically to around 65 to 70 percent loan to value, and we place each one with a lender that backs the sector.
How much deposit do I need to buy an industrial unit in Edinburgh?
Most lenders advance around 65 to 70 percent of value on a let Edinburgh industrial investment, so plan for equity of roughly 30 to 35 percent of the price plus costs. Established owner-occupiers can often reach around 70 to 80 percent against their own premises. A vacant or short-income unit is funded on more cautious terms, often via a bridge first.
What are Edinburgh industrial finance rates and terms?
Rates depend on the lender, the leverage and the income profile of the property, so we quote them deal by deal rather than as a headline. Indicatively, term debt starts from around 6 percent, development finance from around 8 percent and bridging from around 0.75 percent per month, with terms from months on a bridge to 25 years on a commercial mortgage. For market context, regional multi-let rents average around £7.53/sq ft (Scotland multi-let average, Gerald Eve (Newmark), Multi-Let Winter bulletin 2024, Q3 2024).
Can I fund a multi-let estate or a yard in Edinburgh?
Yes. Multi-let industrial estates are funded on the rent roll, with the lender testing interest cover against the net income and the manager's ability to run dozens of small tenancies; open storage and industrial yards are funded against the land with more conservative leverage, typically around 55 to 65 percent. We arrange both routes across Lothian.
Funding an industrial unit in Edinburgh?
Send us the outline and we will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms within one working day.