Younger, newer landlords driving limited company buy-to-let property ownership

17 December 2025

The dramatic increase in buy-to-let properties held in limited companies seen over the last decade has been driven by younger, newer landlords buying property within a company structure from the outset.

A Paragon Bank survey of over 500 landlords, undertaken as part of their new report titled 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.

Paragon’s research suggests that a new generation of landlords is helping to drive this shift, opting for limited company ownership from the outset.

Amongst landlords aged 25-34, 57% of properties are held in limited companies, while 43% are owned through a mix of corporate and personal names. In the 35-44 bracket, limited company holdings fall to 46%, with another 39% mixed, placing them just behind the youngest group in SPV adoption, something that broadly declines as landlord age increases.

Mirroring the pattern seen when the cohorts are viewed by age, limited company ownership is highest among the newest landlords and falls with experience.

Those in the market for five years or less hold 80% of their portfolios in limited companies, with the rest split between personal name (11.5%), mixed ownership (7.5%) and limited liability partnership (1%). The share of properties help in SPVs drops to 40% for landlords with six to 10 years’ experience, 21% for those in the 11-20 year bracket, and just 16% among the most seasoned operators who boast 21 or more years of experience.

Louisa Sedgwick, Managing Director of Mortgages at Paragon Bank, said:

“In a bid to mitigate the impact of tax changes introduced in the latter half of the previous decade, the last 10 years has seen more and more landlords opt to hold their buy-to-let properties in limited companies. Interestingly, our research shows that younger and newer landlords are more likely to structure their portfolios this way and do so earlier on in their landlord careers.

“This is something we’ve seen more of and recent enhancements to our mortgage application system are supporting these landlords. We’ve streamlined applications for simple buy-to-let cases, significantly cutting the number of supporting documents we ask for and speeding up the journey.

“In part, I think that these landlords benefit from more advice and education on the benefits and key considerations than those who came before them. With some of our older, more experienced landlords perhaps eyeing retirement, helping the next generation of landlords to succeed is vital so this support can only be a good thing.”