Holiday Let Portfolio Mortgages Leicester
Specialist commercial mortgages for FHL (furnished holiday let) portfolios across Leicester city centre apart-hotels, Cultural Quarter serviced apartments, and the wider Leicestershire county fringe. Aggregated facility across 3-plus properties on occupancy-and-ADR underwriting. LTVs to 70%, mid-2026 rates 7.0 to 9.0% pa. Mainstream commercial desks largely do not engage, wrong desk first time loses six weeks.
LTV
Up to 70%
Cover test
DSCR 130 to 145%
Rate range
7.0 to 9.0% pa
Facility
£300K to £3M
Underwriting an FHL portfolio commercial mortgage
FHL (furnished holiday let) properties qualify for distinct treatment, they are commercially-let assets generating short-stay holiday income rather than long-term residential rent. Lender underwriting tests four variables. Average occupancy across the calendar year (sustained 50 to 60% plus is the threshold). Average daily rate (ADR) by season. Seasonality, strong-season weeks at high ADR matter as much as headline annual figure. Platform mix, Airbnb, Booking.com, direct, plus owner-managed versus agent-managed.
Most FHL portfolio lenders need three-plus properties to consider portfolio-refinance pricing. Single-asset FHL routes through specialist BTL with FHL product (different pool, different logic). Portfolio underwriting tests aggregated DSCR at 130 to 145% across all properties, the diversification of income across multiple FHLs gives lenders comfort that one bad season at a single property does not break the portfolio.
Active FHL territory around Leicester: city centre apart-hotels serving the business-travel demand from New Walk, the Colton Square office cluster and the Highcross catchment, Cultural Quarter serviced apartments around Rutland Street, Halford Street and Orton Square, and county-fringe rural stock toward Charnwood Forest and the Loughborough villages. The Cultural Quarter and Waterside regeneration have produced new serviced apartment supply over the last decade. Worked example: a four-property city centre apart-hotel cluster around the King Richard III Quarter, £1.55M aggregate valuation, £138K aggregate annual gross income, 64% blended occupancy, mixed Airbnb-and-Booking.com let. LendInvest placed at 65% LTV, 8.5% pa on a five-year fix, 25-year term, aggregated DSCR 138%. Worked example two: a three-property serviced apartment portfolio in the Cultural Quarter, £1.05M aggregate, £92K aggregate rent, placed via InterBay Commercial at 60% LTV, 8.85% pa.
Holiday-let portfolio assets we fund
Single-asset FHL
Single property let on FHL basis, typically rural or market-town location. Routes through specialist BTL with FHL product rather than portfolio facility.
FHL portfolio (3-plus properties)
Aggregated portfolio facility for three-plus FHLs in same broad geography. DSCR-led, blanket-charge or property-by-property structure.
City centre apart-hotel
Leicester city centre apart-hotels serving business-travel demand from New Walk and the Highcross catchment. Operator-letting model assessment material.
Serviced apartment cluster
Cultural Quarter and city centre serviced apartments. Specialist lender appetite where the operator has clean trading history and multi-platform booking mix.
County-fringe rural FHL
Charnwood Forest, Loughborough villages, Market Harborough fringe rural conversion stock. Specialist rural lender appetite.
B&B and boutique guesthouse
Operator-owned overnight-stay business; trading-business overlap with leisure category. Operator-occupied B&B routes through trading-business mortgage.
Finance structures for FHL portfolios
FHL commercial mortgage on a portfolio basis is the primary route for three-plus properties. Single-asset FHLs route through specialist BTL or commercial investment. Operator-occupied B&Bs route through trading-business mortgage with operator-residence allowance.
FHL portfolio mortgage
Three-plus FHL properties aggregated under a single facility. DSCR-led at 130 to 145% on blended income.
Trading-business mortgage
Operator-occupied B&B or guesthouse, EBITDA, occupancy and ADR underwritten.
Commercial bridge-to-let
Acquisition plus refurbishment of property for new FHL use; term-out onto FHL portfolio once stabilised.
Commercial remortgage
End-of-fix or capital raise across an established FHL portfolio.
The Leicester FHL market
FHL stock around Leicester concentrates in two distinct sub-markets. The city centre apart-hotel and serviced apartment cluster sits around the Cultural Quarter, around Rutland Street, Halford Street and Orton Square, plus the King Richard III Quarter and the Highcross catchment. Demand drivers here are weekday business travel from the New Walk legal-and-financial sector, the universities, the NHS University Hospitals Trust, and weekend leisure visits to the King Richard III Visitor Centre, Highcross and the Belgrave Road Golden Mile. The second sub-market is the county-fringe rural FHL stock toward Charnwood Forest, Loughborough villages and the Market Harborough rural belt, typically 2 to 4 bedroom converted barns and cottages. Stock typically commands £85 to £200 per night across the urban apart-hotel range and £130 to £350 for the rural premium stock at peak.
Lender appetite for FHL portfolios
<strong>LendInvest</strong> and <strong>InterBay Commercial</strong> are the most active specialist FHL portfolio lenders. <strong>Shawbrook</strong> and <strong>Cynergy Bank</strong> cover larger portfolios (five-plus properties, £2M-plus aggregate facility). Select private credit on bespoke structures. Mid-2026 pricing 7.0 to 9.0% pa at 60 to 70% LTV. Mainstream commercial desks (<strong>NatWest</strong>, <strong>Lloyds</strong>, <strong>Barclays</strong>, <strong>Santander</strong>) largely decline FHL outright, they treat short-stay income as too volatile. Specialist BTL desks cover single-asset FHL but not portfolio-aggregated structures. Get the right specialist first time, wrong desk loses six weeks.
Holiday-Let Portfolio FAQs
Developing a holiday-let portfolio scheme in Leicester?
Free-of-charge scheme assessment. Indicative terms within 48 hours.