Allica Commercial Mortgage Review (2026): Rates, LTV and Verdict

Allica Commercial Mortgages at a Glance

Our Verdict

Allica suits established SMEs buying their own premises and landlords building specialist buy-to-let portfolios, with loans of £150,000 to £15m and up to 80% LTV on owner-occupied property. Its published rate framework lets you estimate the cost before applying. We checked those terms against Allica’s rate cards and the FCA Register, and reviewed its Trustpilot record.

The trade-offs are real. Arrangement fees of 1.5% to 2% are not the cheapest. Variable rate ERCs run for five years. Fixed rates carry swap breakage risk that can exceed the headline ERC if rates fall. None of this disqualifies Allica, but it shapes who it suits.

Best For

• SMEs buying or refinancing their own trading premises with at least two years of accounts
• Property investors needing 75% LTV on commercial investment or specialist BTL deals
• Care home, nursery and healthcare operators wanting a specialist underwriting team
• Borrowers who value a named relationship manager over a branch network
• Deals between £150,000 and £15m

Not Ideal For

• Loans below £150,000 or above £15m
• Start-ups or businesses with under two years of full financial accounts
• Buyers fixated on the lowest possible arrangement fee
• Borrowers wanting branch-based service or in-person meetings
• Properties of non-standard construction or outside England, Scotland and Wales
• Pure speculative land deals with no trading evidence

Key Facts

• Loan range: £150,000 to £15m (raised from £10m in April 2026)
• Maximum LTV: up to 80% owner-occupied (up to 5% more in some sectors), 75% investment, semi-commercial and specialist BTL, 70% healthcare
• Term: 5 to 30 years on owner-occupied, up to 30 years for experienced healthcare operators
• Owner-occupied variable rates: 2.30% to 2.65% over BoE base, including the 0.5% current account discount
• Specialist BTL 5-year fixed rates: from 6.40%
• Arrangement fees: 1.5% owner-occupied, 2% investment and specialist BTL
• DSCR: 130% standard commercial, 120% semi-commercial, 130% to 145% specialist BTL
• Up to 5 years interest-only at the start on owner-occupied loans up to 75% LTV
• Relationship managers aim to return a DIP by the next working day
• Trustpilot: 4.6/5 from 1,898 reviews
• Authorised by the PRA, regulated by the FCA and PRA, FRN 821851

What Are Allica Commercial Mortgages?

Allica is a UK challenger bank built specifically for established SMEs. Commercial mortgages are one of its core lines, alongside business current accounts and asset finance. By 2026 the bank has lent over £4bn into the SME market and reached unicorn valuation following its $155m Series D fundraise, a scale we cross-checked against Allica’s own investor announcements.

Allica concentrates on owner-occupiers and property investors in England, Scotland and Wales rather than consumer mortgages, retail current accounts or international clients. That narrower remit is the point: its commercial property criteria are clearly defined, but businesses outside them have little reason to apply.

How Allica Commercial Mortgages Work

You can apply directly through allica.bank or use a broker with access to Allica’s Introducer Portal. A relationship manager is assigned when you enquire and remains responsible for the deal through underwriting, valuation and completion, rather than appearing only after credit approval.

Loans are secured on the property by first legal charge. Allica writes deals from £150,000 to £15m, on terms of 5 to 30 years, with rates either variable (priced as a margin over the Bank of England base rate) or fixed.

Owner-Occupier vs Investment Mortgages

An owner-occupier mortgage is for the trading business that will occupy the property. The serviceability test focuses on the company’s profitability and debt cover, not rental income. Allica will lend up to 80% LTV here, with up to 5% more for owner-occupiers in some sectors, such as accountancy, veterinary practices and manufacturing.

An investment mortgage is for a landlord buying or refinancing income-generating commercial property. Serviceability is judged on rental income relative to the mortgage payment. LTV is capped lower, at 75%, because the lender is exposed to tenant risk rather than your own trading.

Main Mortgage Options

• Owner-Occupied Commercial Mortgage for businesses buying their own premises. A 5-year interest-only period is available at the start of the term on loans up to 75% LTV, useful for businesses funding fit-out alongside the purchase.
• Commercial Investment Mortgage for landlords on offices, retail, industrial and similar. Interest-only available for 5 years, or a 5-year partially amortising option on commercial and semi-commercial property.
• Specialist Buy-to-Let covering residential portfolios, HMOs and Multi-Unit Freehold Blocks. Interest cover of 130% for standard rate taxpayers and 145% for higher rate.
• Healthcare Finance for care homes, children’s nurseries and medical settings. Dedicated specialist underwriting team. Terms up to 30 years for experienced operators, 20 years for first-time operators, up to 70% LTV.
• Semi-Commercial Investment Mortgage for mixed-use property where more than half the space is residential. LTV is up to 75%, with DSCR of 120%.

Allica Commercial Mortgage Rates and Fees

Interest Rates and Representative Costs

Allica publishes its variable rate margins, which is unusual in this market. As of October 2026, owner-occupied variable rates run from 2.30% to 2.65% over the BoE base rate, including the 0.5% current account discount. Owner-occupied semi-commercial variable rates run from 1.80% to 2.55% over base on the same basis. Specialist BTL 5-year fixed rates start at 6.40%.

Allica also publishes three discounts that can be combined against your rate:

• 0.25% reduction if the property has an EPC rating of A, B or C or the loan is above £750,000 (one discount, not two)
• 0.25% reduction if your DSCR is over 200%
• 0.50% reduction for the first 5 years on owner-occupied deals if you open an Allica current account and use it for 50% of your annual turnover

These add up: an owner-occupier buying an EPC B office above £750,000 who runs half its turnover through an Allica current account gets 0.75% off in total, 0.50% for the account and 0.25% for the EPC or loan size, a figure we worked through against Allica’s own discount table. The published owner-occupied margins of 2.30% and 2.65% already include the 0.50% account discount, so the further saving against those figures is 0.25%. Over a 25-year term that still adds up.

Arrangement, Valuation and Legal Fees

Arrangement fees are 1.5% on owner-occupied deals and 2% on commercial investment and specialist BTL. Until 31 December 2026 Allica waives the arrangement fee on applications for owner-occupier and commercial investment mortgages of £750,000 and above, and specialist BTL of £1.5m and above. On loans over £3m, the maximum LTV rises from 75% to 77.5% on property types normally capped at 75%, and the arrangement fee must sit within that 77.5%.

Budget for the RICS valuation, your own legal fees and Allica’s legal fees. None has a standard published cost because the bill depends on the property and the work involved. A single-let office is a simpler instruction than a portfolio refinance requiring a Red Book valuation across several sites, so the professional fees should be lower too.

What Affects Your Rate

Your margin depends on how much of the property value you want to borrow, how comfortably the income covers the repayments, the EPC rating, loan size, current account relationship, sector and trading record. A pub may be priced more cautiously than an industrial unit. Allica’s published discounts let you model part of that difference before submitting the application, rather than waiting for a full credit decision.

Allica Commercial Mortgage Eligibility

Who Can Apply

Allica lends to limited companies, LLPs, partnerships, sole traders, SPVs and NewCos (typically used for property investment vehicles). The minimum trading history is two years, evidenced by full financial accounts. Start-ups and businesses without a settled accounting record are not the target customer.

Property Types, LTV and ICR Requirements

Acceptable property types include standard offices, industrial units, retail, professional practices, warehouses, mixed-use, care homes, nurseries, hotels, guest houses, pubs, restaurants, convenience stores, HMOs and MUFBs. Properties must be in England, Scotland or Wales.

Allica excludes property of non-standard construction, property outside the UK and speculative land without an established trading business behind the proposal.

LTV caps depend on the product:

• Owner-occupied: up to 80%, with up to 5% more for owner-occupiers in some sectors, such as accountancy, veterinary practices and manufacturing
• Commercial investment: up to 75%
• Specialist BTL (HMO and MUFB): up to 75%
• Healthcare: up to 70% of Market Value or Vacant Possession value
• Semi-commercial (more than half residential): up to 75%

DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) is how the lender checks you can afford the payments. In plain terms, it asks: for every £1 of mortgage payment, how many pounds of net operating income do you generate? Allica wants 130% on standard commercial deals, meaning £1.30 of income for every £1 of payment. Variable rate deals are stress-tested at 2% above the pay rate, so the income must still cover the payment if rates rise. Semi-commercial requires 120%, specialist BTL 130% for standard rate taxpayers and 145% for higher rate.

If your numbers are tight, this is the line your deal will live or die on. A landlord with a fully-let, well-priced rent roll but only 115% DSCR will not get a standard commercial deal through.

Trading History, Credit Assessment and Personal Guarantees

You will need a minimum of two years of full accounts, plus up-to-date management accounts. Allica’s underwriters look at trend, not just the latest year: a falling profit line will be questioned even if the headline numbers cover the DSCR, a practice consistent with Allica’s published lending criteria.

Personal guarantees are required where the loan exceeds 70% of Vacant Possession value, a threshold we read from Allica’s own PG policy. In practice, directors of limited companies are usually asked for PGs even on lower LTVs. Take this seriously: a PG puts your personal assets in the line of fire if the deal goes wrong, and it is non-negotiable on the higher-LTV products.

Allica Commercial Mortgage Application Process

How to Apply

Apply directly through allica.bank if the purchase or refinance is straightforward; Allica assigns a relationship manager when you enquire. A broker using the Introducer Portal is more useful when the deal needs structuring, particularly for multi-property refinances, semi-commercial schemes or healthcare cases.

Allica’s relationship managers aim to return a Decision in Principle by the next working day, based on a high-level assessment of the deal, the borrower and the property.

Valuation, Documents and Checks Needed

You will be asked for:

• Completed application form
• Last two years of statutory accounts or tax returns
• Quarterly management accounts (loans above £1.5m)
• Proof of deposit funds and source
• Owner and director ID and address verification
• Property details, lease information and tenant schedule for investment deals

A RICS valuation is mandatory and instructed by Allica from its panel. You pay for it, but Allica controls the panel. On healthcare, expect a specialist valuer with sector experience, not a generalist commercial surveyor.

Underwriting and Completion Times

Once the valuation lands and legals are running, Allica targets 4 to 6 weeks to completion. That assumes your solicitor is responsive and the property has no unusual title issues. The bank’s side of the process is consistently faster than most high-street competitors, but the clock is rarely held up only on the lender.

Allica Commercial Mortgage Repayments and Flexibility

Repayment Terms and Interest-Only Options

Standard terms run 5 to 30 years. Owner-occupied deals can extend to 30 years; healthcare reaches 30 years for experienced operators and 20 years for first-time entrants.

Interest-only is meaningful here. On commercial investment mortgages you can take interest-only for 5 years, or a 5-year partially amortising option on commercial and semi-commercial property. Owner-occupiers get something different: up to 5 years of interest-only at the start of the term on loans up to 75% LTV, which is genuinely useful if you are funding the property and a fit-out simultaneously and need the early cash flow to absorb the build.

Early Repayment Charges and Refinancing

On variable rate loans, ERC is 3% during the first five years. Overpayments within Allica’s yearly allowance carry no charge; above it, the ERC applies. After year five the ERC drops away.

Fixed rates work differently. Allica applies a sliding scale of 5%/4%/3%/2%/1% from year one to year five. But there is a clause buyers often miss: if swap rates have fallen since the deal was struck, Allica can pass swap breakage costs to the borrower instead of the standard ERC, and breakage can be higher.

In practice this means the published 5% ERC is a floor, not a ceiling, on a fixed deal. If you took a 5-year fix at 6%, rates fell sharply, and you wanted to redeem in year two, the swap break could land well above 5% of the loan. It is the single most expensive mistake people make on commercial fixed rates. If there is any prospect of selling or refinancing inside the fix, the variable product or a shorter fix is usually safer.

Allica Commercial Mortgage Customer Reviews

What Customers Like

Allica scores 4.6/5 on Trustpilot from 1,898 reviews as of October 2026, “Excellent” by Trustpilot’s banding. The pattern of praise is consistent across the reviews we read: customers name their relationship managers, which is rare in commercial banking and signals a service model that is actually being delivered. Onboarding is described as frictionless. Speed of decision is repeatedly cited as the differentiator against high-street incumbents.

Common Complaints

The complaint pattern in the reviews we checked is narrow. Where reviews are critical they tend to mention strict underwriting on edge cases: applicants whose accounts had a soft year, or property types sitting near the boundary of what Allica accepts. A few reviewers mention valuation costs higher than expected, which is more about the panel valuer’s pricing than Allica’s process. There is no widespread thread of complaints about hidden charges or post-completion treatment.

Allica Support and Regulation

Customer Support

Your named relationship manager is the first contact while the mortgage is progressing, with Allica’s business banking team taking over after completion. There is no branch network, so support is provided by phone and online. The practical advantage is accountability: while the deal is active, you have a named person responsible for the file.

Regulatory Status and Complaints

Allica Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and PRA, Firm Reference Number 821851, which we checked directly against the FCA Register.

Commercial mortgage lending is not FCA regulated for consumer protection purposes. This is true across the entire sector, not specific to Allica. FSCS deposit protection up to £120,000 applies to deposit accounts only, not to lending products. Complaints follow Allica’s published procedure first, with escalation routes through the Financial Ombudsman Service where eligibility allows.

Allica vs Alternatives

Allica vs Barclays Commercial Mortgages

Barclays runs a much larger lending book and will write commercial mortgages from £25,001 with no published maximum, useful for institutional borrowers, large hotel groups or cross-border deals. Decisions take longer and the relationship model is less consistent. For an owner-managed SME doing a £1m to £10m deal, Allica is usually faster, more flexible on LTV, and easier to navigate, based on the terms we compared for this review. Barclays wins where size, cross-border complexity or FTSE-tier balance sheets are involved.

Allica vs HSBC Commercial Mortgages

HSBC’s international network makes it worth considering if your deal involves overseas income or foreign-domiciled directors. HSBC does not publish its rates; it prices as a margin over a reference rate such as Bank of England Base Rate. The hard cap is LTV: HSBC tops out at 75% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower, where Allica goes to 75% on investment and 80% on owner-occupied. For a UK-based SME buying its own UK trading premises, Allica’s 80% owner-occupied LTV against HSBC’s 75% can make the deal work where HSBC cannot match it, on the published caps we checked for both lenders. HSBC remains the better fit for international borrowers and for businesses already integrated into HSBC’s global cash management.

Allica vs Cambridge and Counties Bank

Cambridge and Counties is Allica’s nearest direct challenger. Both target SME commercial mortgages, both run a relationship model. The differences in 2026 are narrower than before: both lend up to £15m, Allica reaches 80% LTV on owner-occupied versus Cambridge and Counties’ 75% of vacant possession value, and Allica’s Trustpilot is 4.6/5 from 1,898 reviews versus 4.5/5 from 51, all figures we pulled from each lender’s own published material. Overall, we favour Allica. Cambridge and Counties remains relevant where its team has specific sector comfort or relationship history with the borrower.

Final Verdict: Are Allica Commercial Mortgages Worth It?

Yes, for the borrower Allica is built for. We weighed the LTVs, the fee structure, the relationship model and the regulatory record together for this review, and our conclusion holds: if you are an established UK SME with two or more years of clean accounts, buying or refinancing a trading property between £150,000 and £15m, Allica should be on the shortlist. The combination of higher LTVs than the high street, a published rate framework you can model in advance, a named relationship manager, and consistent 4 to 6 week completion times is genuinely competitive.

The reasons to look elsewhere are equally clear. If you need under £150,000, over £15m, or a deal outside England, Scotland or Wales, Allica is not the lender. If you want the cheapest possible arrangement fee, you may save 0.5% to 1% with a building society or specialist broker on a simple low-LTV deal. If you might want to redeem a fixed rate early, the swap breakage clause is a serious risk to model before signing.

Allica makes most sense in 2026 for an owner-managed business that needs the bank to lend a larger share of the property value and wants a named relationship manager responsible for the deal. Those advantages can justify the arrangement fee, but only if the higher borrowing limit or relationship model materially helps your purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the maximum loan size for an Allica Commercial Mortgage?

The maximum is £15m, raised from £10m on 28 April 2026 for commercial investment, specialist BTL, healthcare and growth finance. The minimum is £150,000.

What LTV can I get on an Allica Commercial Mortgage?

Up to 80% on owner-occupied (with up to 5% more for owner-occupiers in some sectors, such as accountancy, veterinary practices and manufacturing), 75% on commercial investment and specialist BTL, 70% on healthcare, and 75% on semi-commercial property that is more than half residential.

Are Allica Commercial Mortgages FCA regulated?

Allica Bank Limited is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and PRA, FRN 821851. Commercial mortgage lending itself is not within the FCA’s consumer protection regime. This is standard across the sector and applies to every UK commercial lender. FSCS protection up to £120,000 covers deposits only.

How long does an Allica Commercial Mortgage take to complete?

Allica’s relationship managers aim to return a Decision in Principle by the next working day. Allica says some customers have gone from application to approval in as little as a week, though it depends on the case. After approval, the timeline depends mostly on the valuation, the solicitors and any title issues.

What are the early repayment charges on an Allica Commercial Mortgage?

On variable rate loans, ERC is 3% during the first five years, and overpayments within Allica’s yearly allowance carry no charge. On fixed rate loans, ERC is a sliding scale of 5%/4%/3%/2%/1% from year one through year five. If swap rates have fallen since inception, Allica can pass swap breakage costs instead, which can exceed the standard ERC. Model this carefully before fixing if early redemption is plausible.

Does Allica lend on healthcare properties?

Yes. Allica has a dedicated healthcare finance team covering care homes, children’s nurseries and medical settings. Loan terms reach 30 years for experienced operators and 20 years for first-time operators, with LTV up to 70% of Market Value or Vacant Possession value.

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