Commercial Mortgages Manchester: What Mortgage Strategy's Latest Move Means for Borrowers

Commercial mortgages Manchester borrowers now have another affordability route to weigh up, after Atom bank increased the loan to income multiple on its prime and near prime product ranges. Per Mortgage Strategy, the change applies to loans up to 90% loan to value and is aimed squarely at borrowers with household incomes between £45,000 and £60,000, a band that covers a large share of the small business owners and sole traders our desk speaks to across Greater Manchester.

The change is small on paper, one bank tweaking one lending metric, but it sits inside a wider pattern we have been tracking all year. Affordability rules have been the main brake on commercial and semi commercial borrowing since rates rose, and lenders are now competing on how much income they will lend against rather than just on price. When one prime lender loosens its loan to income multiple, others tend to follow within a few months to stay competitive on completions. For a market like Manchester, where mixed use conversions, HMO refinances and owner occupier purchases are all common, that competitive pressure matters more than the headline of any single announcement.

For borrowers actually looking at commercial mortgages Manchester deals right now, the practical effect is this: some applications that would have been declined on affordability grounds three months ago may now clear underwriting with a prime or near prime lender, without needing to drop down into more expensive specialist commercial territory. A limited company director with household income of £50,000 looking to buy a mixed use unit off Deansgate or refinance a portfolio in Salford could see a materially higher borrowing ceiling under the revised multiple, depending on how the lender treats their income and how their other property borrowing is assessed. That is not guaranteed for every case, since prime and near prime criteria still carry conditions around credit history, deposit size and property type, but it widens the pool of realistic options for anyone previously sitting just below the old threshold.

Our read as brokers is that this is worth checking rather than assuming it will not apply. We see too many Manchester applicants self select out of prime lending because their last enquiry, sometimes over a year ago, was turned down on affordability. Loan to income policy moves quickly and criteria that ruled someone out in early 2026 may no longer apply. Anyone with a live purchase or refinance in Manchester, or a deal that stalled earlier this year over affordability, should get it re run against current criteria before assuming a challenger bank or specialist commercial lender is the only route.

We keep local criteria and lender appetite current for the city on our Commercial Mortgages Broker Manchester location page, where borrowers can see how affordability changes like this one translate into real borrowing power for the types of property common across Greater Manchester. If a deal was previously declined or scaled back on income grounds, this is a sensible moment to bring it back to the market and see whether the numbers now work.