Buying a holiday let or short-stay business?

Holiday let and short stay acquisitions come in two distinct forms — and we fund both. The first is the property itself: a freehold holiday let or serviced apartment where income is generated through short-term occupancy. The second is the management business: an established company managing short-term rental properties on behalf of owners, generating recurring management fee income from a live portfolio. Each is funded differently, assessed differently by lenders, and requires a broker who understands which structure applies to your specific acquisition.

What lenders look at

For property acquisitions — occupancy yield and seasonal trading pattern are the foundation. Lenders will examine the net annual occupancy rate, the average nightly rate, and the revenue per available night across the full trading year. A holiday let with consistent occupancy above sixty to seventy percent annually — or a shorter peak season with strong summer occupancy supplemented by weekend breaks and off-season bookings — is a strong lending proposition. Booking platform performance on Airbnb, Booking.com, and direct booking channels is assessed alongside the occupancy data. A property with a strong review score — four-point-five stars or above across a substantial number of reviews — demonstrates the guest experience quality that drives repeat bookings and sustainable occupancy. The property itself is assessed on both a trading and a vacant possession basis — the freehold provides the primary security and the holiday let income confirms serviceability.

For management business acquisitions — portfolio size and management fee income are the foundation. Lenders will examine the total number of properties under management, the average management fee rate, the monthly recurring fee income generated by the portfolio, and the landlord retention history. Short-term rental management businesses generate recurring income from a portfolio of properties that they manage on behalf of owners — taking a percentage of each booking as their management fee. A well-run management business with a large, stable portfolio and low landlord churn is assessed on the same basis as any recurring income service business. The portfolio's geographic concentration, the booking platform relationships, and the operational systems in place are all reviewed as indicators of the business's ability to maintain income after the ownership change.

Planning use and local authority regulations are reviewed for property acquisitions. Short-term holiday let use is subject to increasing regulatory scrutiny in many local authority areas — some councils have introduced Article 4 directions removing permitted development rights for short-term let use, and the Scottish Government has introduced a licensing regime for short-term lets. Lenders will want to confirm that the property has appropriate planning use for short-term letting and that there are no outstanding enforcement notices or regulatory issues. A property with a clean planning history and established short-term let use in an area without restrictive Article 4 directions is a more confident lending proposition.

How we help

We are acquisition finance and loans brokers, not lenders. We package your application, present it to the funders with genuine property and hospitality appetite, and manage the process from first conversation through to completion.

We also arrange government-backed facilities for holiday let and short stay acquisitions — helping buyers access up to £2 million toward their purchase where the criteria are met.

Every holiday let and short stay acquisition is different. Tell us about the business. We will take it from there.