19 October 2016

Business rates support from Lambert Smith Hampton

All commercial and industrial property located throughout England, Scotland and Wales has been revalued by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in connection with the April 2017 Rating Revaluation.

Whilst overall Rateable Values across England are set to increase by 9.1% there are some significant regional and sectoral variations, with London the hardest hit region, bearing increases of 22.8%. 

These changes will be reflected on the Business Rates invoice raised by your local council in early 2017, with the financial liability impacting upon your business from 1st April 2017.

What does this all mean and how can you verify your position and (if appropriate) appeal your business property’s entry on the Rating List?

Lambert Smith Hampton (a fellow BPIF member) have prepared a summary of the impact of the 2017 Rating Revaluation

2017 Rating Revaluation

All commercial and industrial property located throughout England, Scotland and Wales has been revalued by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in connection with the 2017 Rating Revaluation with the list publication date being 1st April 2017. 

Business rates are currently based on values as at 1st April 2008, when the property market was at its peak, following a period of sustained growth over a number of years. The 2017 Revaluation, however, will be based on values existing as at 1st April 2015.

The draft Rating List was published on the 30th September 2016 and the Government have recently published documentation providing estimates of the change in Rateable Values as a result of the 2017 Rating Revaluation. The percentage change in England across all sectors is +9.1% which is considerably above the level originally predicted across the industry, with London the hardest hit region with increases of +22.8%. 

There is no right of appeal until the Rating List has been published on the 1st April 2017. However, representations can be made up to the 30th November 2016 in order to influence any entry into the Rating List where there is evidence that the draft List figure is excessive.

As a result of the above changes the uniform business rate (the multiplier) is expected to be reduced with current estimates of 48.0 p for the standard rate.

If you have any doubt as to how these changes will impact upon your business LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON can provide trusted professional advice and cost effective solutions.....

The Rating Division of Lambert Smith Hampton is one of the leading providers of rating advice in the UK. We regard rating as a specialist activity, with the division incorporating a team of 33 dedicated rating surveyors strategically located throughout our national office network. 

All surveyors are RICS qualified and the majority are members of the Rating Surveyors’ Association.

We have managed over 50,000 appeals on the 2000 and 2005 Rating Lists and have submitted over 36,000 appeals to date on the 2010 Rating List. 

The total rates liability savings achieved to date on the 2010 Rating List are in excess of £400m. 

We have extensive experience in the provision of property valuations, for rating purposes, to both public and private sector clients.

LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON can provide your business with professional assistance to effectively manage the financial impact of the 2017 Rating Revaluation and work with your business on its ongoing impact resulting from potential material changes of circumstance and property developments.

All fees, which are predominantly performance based, will be discussed and confirmed with you in advance. As you will appreciate, properties and the complexity of reviews/appeals vary on a case by case basis....

Please contact Mark Clapham on 0121 237 2373 (e-mail [email protected]) should you require clarification of the impact of the Rating Revaluation on your business and advice on how LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON can verify and protect your financial interests (not forgetting to mention that you are a BPIF member!)