Limited company landlords accounted for a record proportion of house purchase transactions funded with a buy-to-let mortgage in 2025.
An analysis of industry data by Paragon Bank shows that limited companies accounted for 43% of mortgaged buy-to-let house purchases during the year, up from 35% in 2024.
The proportion of mortgage completions made through a limited company has risen steadily since 2018, when they accounted for just 7.5% of completions.
Landlords have increasingly utilised limited company structures following changes to the tax treatment of rental income in 2017 which resulted in being taxed on gross rental income.
Before April 2017, landlords who held property in their personal name could deduct mortgage interest and finance costs from rental income, an allowance that was phased out and replaced with a 20% tax credit.
Industry house purchase data primarily comprises of landlords buying property, but also includes transactions where a landlord transfers a property from a personal name to a limited company structure.
The proportion of completed buy-to-let remortgages via limited company landlords also increased during the year, accounting for 11.5% of transactions, up from 10% in 2024 and 1.30% in 2018.
Separately, Companies House figures revealed that just under 50,000 companies were established for the practice of buying and selling own real estate in 2025, the most common SIC code used by landlords when applying for buy-to-let finance via a limited company.
In total, 49,029 companies were incorporated for this reason during the year, rising from 45,775 in 2024.
Companies House data shows that 274,315 businesses are active for the purpose of buying and selling own real estate, more than the number of businesses incorporated and active in the hospitality industry.
Louisa Sedgwick, Paragon Bank Managing Director of Mortgages, says: “[This] reflects the structural shift we’ve seen in the market since the 2017 tax changes.
“As landlords have adjusted to being taxed on gross rental income, incorporation has become an increasingly attractive and often necessary route to maintain profitability.
“Limited company structures can potentially not only offer more efficient tax treatment but also provide greater flexibility for portfolio growth and long‑term planning.
“The record share of purchases and remortgages completed through limited companies in 2025 underlines how deeply this trend is now embedded in the sector, and it is one we anticipate will continue.”
A Paragon Bank survey of over 500 landlords, undertaken as part of the How limited company ownership is becoming the new normal, found that nearly one in three (29%) hold their properties exclusively via a limited company structure.
With another 36% splitting ownership between corporate entities and personal names, two‑thirds (65%) of landlords have created at least one Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for their buy-to-let investments.
