Business Rates

Business rates are similar to Council Tax and are an unavoidable cost to any business that owns or rents a non-domiciled property. The government sets the Uniform Business Rate and then the Local Councils multiply this by the Rateable Value.

For example:

If your business premises had a rateable value of £100k and the UBR was 0.44, then your business rates would be calculated as £100k x 0.44 = £44,400.00

Due to the nature of the appeals process, it is paramount that the right surveyor is brought on board from the start. Sussex Savings offer its clients the following services, often based on a No-win, no-fee type arrangement with the UK's top service providers.

Some of these services include:

Business rate appeals

• Advice on whether appeals should be made against new, altered or revalued rating assessments, covering all classes of property
• Carry out analysis, comparison and investigations
• Lodge electronic appeals which can be automatically tracked
• Negotiate with Valuation Officers or Assessors
• If necessary, pursue cases into Valuation Tribunals or Land Tribunals

• The use of electronic databases to track and check rate liabilities
• Expert advice on empty rate and partial vacancies

• Chemical Plants, Petrol Filling Stations, Water & Sewerage hereditaments, Garden Centres, Cinemas, Hotels, Leisure Properties, etc.

The next revaluation is expected to be on the 1st April 2010 so now is a good time to address this. Appeals can only be logged once every 5 years in the UK and Wales and normally within 6 weeks of moving into new premises if in Scotland.

It is crucial to get the right partner with the vast knowledge and experience necessary from day one as rates can also be adjusted upwards as well as being reduced. This was brought in to stop the process of blanket appeals being lodged and is a risk that has to be manage professionally.