Business Rates

Reducing rateable values of your property

If your property is overvalued, we can appeal the Rateable Value to reduce it to the correct level.

Recovery of business rates

If you think your annual rate bill may be too high, we can check whether the rate demands are correct, challenge any inaccuracies and help submit an appeal to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). 

Rate reductions on neighbouring building works

If you are a ratepayer of offices situated close to building works, we can help you assess the extent of disruption caused and if viable to submit a claim for business rates reductions. If you qualify for the reduction and the claim is successful, the savings to you could range from 5% to 25% of the rates bill, during the period of the works (sometimes for 2,3,4 years).

Removing your empty property rates liability

Vacant premises

If your property is mothballed, in the design phase, in the planning stage or unoccupied (but property is being let), with careful and early intervention, we can provide business rates advice at the point of acquiring the property and mitigate liability for ongoing rates on vacant properties

Premises incapable of occupation

If your property has been found to have asbestos or fire escape issues and has therefore had to undergo a period of unoccupancy to resolve the issue, we can appeal and secure exemptions for you as well as challenge historic liabilities to secure refunds during the period where it is untenanted.

Buildings undergoing refurbishment or redevelopment

We can provide consultancy at point of planning/scheme design, seek removal of your liability on account of works and seek a better effective date of cessation of liability.

Post practical completion (CAT A)

We can advise on the new level of liability and ensure liability is not commenced prematurely.     

Scenarios of where we can assist with mitigating empty rates liability include:

• Single floor office refurbishment
• Stripped out to shell and core
• Office in Cat A condition
• Stripped out industrial
• Conversion for change of use
• Commencement of demolition
• Have been squatted
• Substantial asbestos removal

Business rates revaluation

Nationwide Business Rates revaluations have historically occured every five years and is when the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) assess and updates the rateable value (RV) of business properties across the UK, to reflect changes in the property market, since the last valuation.  This has just changed to three yearly.

The most recent Business Rates revaluation occurred on 1 April 2023 (based on RV’s from 1st April 2021) and the next one will occur in on 1st April 2026 (based on RV’s from 1st April 2024)

If you think your business’s rateable value has been calculated incorrectly or potentially your property qualifies for exemptions, reductions, delayed entries or deletions from the list due to refurbishments/redevelopments or void periods of occupancy, our business rates specialists can help to lodge appeals before the revaluation deadline, which can result in savings that are backdated to the previous revaluation.