Selling a commercial property isn’t like selling a house. You already know this.
Your retail unit has been listed for 8 months. The office building needs £80,000 in repairs you can’t afford. The warehouse tenant left and you’re paying £3,500 monthly in business rates on an empty building.
Estate agents keep saying “the right buyer is coming.” Auctioneers want you to accept whatever bid comes in. Online “cash buyers” ask for £5,000 in fees upfront.
Here’s the truth: Most people selling commercial properties get terrible advice from people who don’t understand commercial sales. We’re Property Saviour. We buy commercial properties with our own cash. We complete in 7-28 days. No estate agent fees. No auction gambles. No middlemen pretending they have funding.
Let me show you what’s really happening in the commercial property market.
Commercial properties take longer to sell. Full stop.
The buyer pool is tiny compared to residential. Maybe 50 families want to buy a £300,000 house in your area. Only 3-5 serious buyers exist for your £500,000 office building.
Financing kills most deals. Banks demand 30-40% deposits for commercial properties, not the 10-15% they ask for houses. A buyer needs £150,000-£200,000 cash upfront for your £500,000 property. Most people don’t have that sitting around.
Valuations are tricky. A house is worth what similar houses sold for last month. Your commercial property? It depends on rental income, lease terms, business rates, condition, and what buyers think they can do with it.
Estate agents who sell houses all day don’t understand this. They value your property based on guesswork. Then wonder why nobody makes an offer.
Four types of buyers exist.
Property investors buy for rental income. They run the numbers. If your tenant pays £24,000 yearly and the building costs £400,000, they’re getting a 6% yield. They might be interested. If the building is empty? They’re calculating renovation costs and how long before they get a tenant. This takes time.
Business owners sometimes buy their own premises. But they’re rare. Most businesses lease because buying ties up hundreds of thousands in property instead of growing the business.
Cash buyers like us buy everything. Tenanted properties. Empty buildings. Leasehold. Freehold. Properties needing repairs. We use our own money. No banks. No waiting for mortgage approval.
Developers buy to convert. Your old office building becomes flats. Your retail unit becomes a restaurant. They need planning permission. They need funding. They need 4-6 months minimum to get everything sorted.
Most estate agents focus on houses. Commercial is different. Completely different.
They don’t understand commercial leases. They can’t properly value rental yields. They list your property at £750,000 because it “feels right” based on the building size.
Then your property sits online for 9 months. You’re paying business rates. You’re paying building insurance. You’re maintaining an empty property that’s making you poorer every single month.
Estate agents charge 1.5-3% commission plus VAT on commercial sales. On a £500,000 sale, that’s £7,500-£15,000 plus VAT. You wait a year. You pay all those holding costs. Then you hand over £15,000 when it finally sells.
Property Saviour charges zero commission. Zero fees. We make our offer based on what we can complete at. You keep everything we offer. We complete in 7-28 days if you accept.
Auctions feel fast. They’re not.
You wait 6-8 weeks for auction day. You pay for legal packs upfront (£500-£1,000). You pay the auctioneer 3-4% plus VAT when it sells. On a £400,000 property, that’s £12,000-£16,000 plus VAT.
And you accept whatever the highest bid is. Even if it’s £100,000 less than you hoped.
Here’s what auctioneers don’t tell you clearly: 35-40% of auction sales fall through after the hammer drops. The buyer can’t get funding. They find problems in the survey. They change their mind and forfeit their deposit.
You’ve paid the legal pack fee. You’ve waited 6-8 weeks. Now you’re starting over.
Property Saviour do not buy from auctions. We view your property. We make an offer in writing within 24-48 hours. You accept or decline. If you accept, we complete in 7-28 days. No auction drama. No waiting to see who shows up on the day.
This is critical. Half the “cash buyers” online aren’t cash buyers at all.
They’re middlemen. They make you an offer. Then they try to find someone else to buy it for more. Or they “need to arrange funding” which means they lied about having cash.
Here’s how you check if someone actually has cash. Go to Companies House website. It’s free.
Check for charges. A “charge” on Companies House means they’ve borrowed money and used company assets as security. Real cash buyers don’t have mortgages on their properties. They don’t have 8 different charges registered.
If a company has 15 charges listed, they’re not cash buyers. They’re borrowing against everything they own. They’ll struggle to complete your purchase.
Property Saviour’s accounts are on Companies House. Check us. We encourage it. We show proof of funds before you commit to anything. No games. No surprises later.
Through estate agents? The average is 9-12 months in the current market.
Some sell faster. A prime retail unit in Manchester city centre with a good tenant might sell in 4-5 months. An industrial warehouse in a secondary location needing repairs? You’re looking at 12-18 months.
Through Property Saviour? 7-28 days from accepting our offer to completion. We’ve done it. Multiple times. Last month we bought a retail unit in Birmingham. The owner needed to pay off business debts. We completed in 11 days. £340,000 cash transferred.
It depends on factors estate agents often ignore.
Location matters. A shop in a busy town centre is worth more per square metre than the same shop in a declining high street. Your building’s condition matters. An office needing a new roof, rewiring, and updated fire safety systems is worth £100,000 less than the same office in perfect condition.
Lease status is huge. A property with a tenant paying £30,000 yearly on a 10-year lease is valuable. The same property empty? Much less valuable because there’s no income and the buyer has to find a tenant.
We value properties based on reality. Not hope. We look at what we can complete at, factoring in our costs, the work needed, and realistic resale or rental values.
No. That’s the whole point of selling to a cash buyer.
Your office building needs £60,000 in electrical work and fire safety upgrades? We buy it as-is. Your retail unit has a leaking roof? We’ll handle it after we buy.
Estate agents will tell you to fix everything first. “It’ll help it sell faster.” Maybe. Or maybe you spend £60,000 on repairs and still wait 10 months to sell.
We buy properties in any condition. You don’t spend a penny on repairs. We take it exactly as it stands.
With Property Saviour? Nothing.
Zero estate agent commission. Zero admin fees. Zero legal fees on your side (we cover them). The offer we make is what you receive. Minus nothing.
Compare that to estate agents (1.5-3% plus VAT) and auctioneers (3-4% plus VAT). On a £500,000 property, that’s £7,500-£20,000 in fees you avoid.
Yes. We buy tenanted properties regularly.
If you have a good tenant on a solid lease, that’s actually attractive. We buy the property. The tenant stays. The lease transfers to us. Simple.
If you have a problem tenant or the lease is ending soon, we still buy. We handle the transition. You’re not involved after completion.
We buy both freehold and leasehold commercial properties.
Leasehold means you own the property but someone else owns the land. You pay ground rent. The lease has a set number of years remaining.
Short leases (under 80 years) are harder to sell through estate agents. Buyers can’t get mortgages easily. They worry about lease extension costs.
We buy leasehold properties regardless of how many years remain. We understand the numbers. We factor lease costs into our offer. You don’t need to extend the lease or negotiate with the freeholder.
We’re not middlemen. We use our own cash.
Our timeline is real and proven. Day 1: You contact us through the website or call us. Day 2: We view your property in person or arrange a virtual viewing if that’s easier. Day 3-4: We make a written offer with our reasoning. Day 7-28: We complete if you accept.
We don’t have a chain. We don’t need to sell something else to buy yours. We don’t need mortgage approval from a bank. We don’t change our offer later because of “unexpected issues.”
You want to complete in 10 days because you need the cash urgently? We’ll do it. You need 28 days to sort out other business matters? That works too. You set the timeline that suits you.
Commercial property sales often happen because of financial pressure. We understand that.
Your business is closing and creditors are circling. Your business partner wants out and you can’t buy them out. You’re going through a divorce and the commercial property is a shared asset.
These situations need speed. Not an estate agent promising “we’ll find the right buyer eventually.”
We’ve handled all of these scenarios. We move quickly. We complete reliably. The cash hits your account and you can resolve whatever needs resolving.
Here’s exactly what happens. No mystery. No surprises.
You fill in the form on our website or call us directly. Within 24 hours, one of our team calls you back. We ask about your property. Why you’re selling. Your timeline. What you need.
We arrange a viewing. Usually within 48 hours. We look at the property. We assess condition, location, rental potential, and what work might be needed.
We make an offer in writing. We explain how we got to that number. We’re honest about our margins. We don’t lowball then stick to it. Our first offer is our genuine offer.
You accept or decline. No pressure. If our offer doesn’t work for you, that’s fine. You’re not obligated to anything by requesting a call back.
If you accept, our solicitors contact yours. We handle all the legal work. We cover your legal fees. We complete on the date you choose.
You’re liable until completion day. That’s standard.
But here’s the difference: With us, you might pay 2-3 weeks of business rates. With estate agents, you’re paying 9-12 months of business rates, insurance, and maintenance while your property sits on the market.
On an empty office building, that’s £3,000-£5,000 monthly in costs. Over a year? £36,000-£60,000 in holding costs while you wait for an estate agent to find a buyer.
Factor those costs into your decision. A slightly lower cash offer that completes in 14 days might leave you with more actual money than a higher offer that takes 11 months to complete.
Compare it honestly to your realistic alternatives.
An estate agent might say your property is “worth” £600,000. But if it takes 12 months to sell and finally goes for £520,000 after reductions, was it really worth £600,000?
Factor in your holding costs. Factor in estate agent fees. Factor in the value of having £450,000 in cash today versus maybe £520,000 in 12 months.
We make offers below market valuations. We’re clear about that. We need to cover our costs, our risk, and make our margin. But you get certainty. You get speed. You get no fees.
Run the actual numbers. That’s how you decide if a cash offer makes sense for your situation.
You have two options sitting in front of you right now.
Option one: List with an estate agent. Pay £1,000-£2,000 upfront for marketing and photos. Wait 9-12 months on average. Pay business rates and insurance the whole time. Watch buyers come and go with financing problems. Eventually sell for less than the original asking price after three reductions. Pay 1.5-3% commission plus VAT. Hand over £10,000-£20,000 in fees.
Option two: Request a call back from Property Saviour. Get an offer within 48 hours. Accept or decline. If you accept, complete in 7-28 days. Pay zero fees. Move on with your life.
We’re not saying our method is perfect for everyone. If you have time and want to chase maximum price, estate agents might work. If you want certainty, speed, and no hassle, we’re built for that.
No obligation. No pressure. No tricks.
Fill in the form below with your property details. Or call us directly on our main line. We’ll talk within 24 hours.
We’ll discuss your property and your situation. We’ll arrange a viewing. We’ll make you a written offer if we can help.
If our offer works for you, brilliant. If it doesn’t, you’ve lost nothing by having the conversation.
You’re still paying business rates and insurance on that empty building while you read this. Every month you wait costs you real money.
Request your call back now. Let’s have a straightforward conversation about your commercial property and what we can offer. No nonsense. No games. Just a genuine discussion about getting you out of this property quickly with cash in your account.
Whether you’re facing a tricky sale, navigating probate, or simply looking to sell fast without hassle, you’re in the right place. Our blog is packed with practical advice, expert insights, and real-life tips to help homeowners, landlords, and executors across England, Scotland and Wales make informed decisions — whatever the condition of their property.
