Business Rates Update

His announcement of a review of business rates before the next revaluation is welcome but did not go as far as we had hoped in terms of a fundamental review of the relationship between rates and local government funding. In the short term, he is looking at how the system can be made smoother, particularly through more frequent revaluations, which is welcome. He also announced further support for small businesses and pubs to reduce the impact of the business rate revaluation however businesses in this area are unlikely to meet the criteria for this. The most positive news remains that in the autumn statement regarding the reduction in the transitional relief threshold secured following the campaign we supported with other BIDs and stakeholders saving businesses in and around the West End  £10 million compared to the original threshold proposals.

You can see the Chancellor’s full speech here

Further  information on the rates revaluation can be found here. You can get further advise from Nick Bell, Business Rates Partner at Knight Frank on 020 7861 1247 or rating@knightfrank.com.