BUSINESS RATES REDUCTIONS FOR EXETER CITY SHOPS

The good news is that we have recently successfully agreed reductions in the Rateable Value for a number of shops in the Harlequin Shopping Centre and North Street; and remain hopeful of achieving reductions in other similar locations around the city centre.

As you may know your business rates liability is determined by the Rateable Value assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the government department responsible, multiplied by the rate in the £ set by national government and collected by Exeter City Council.

The Rateable Value is based on the rental value of the given premises as at the 1st April 2003 and the current Rating List showing these various values for premises across the city centre was introduced on the 1st April 2005 and remains in being for 5 years.

Changes in the locality, such as the opening of the new Princesshay Shopping Centre, during the currency of a Rating List can have an impact on the relative values within a city centre and therefore lead to reductions in Rateable Values and therefore a saving in rates payable. The VOA is currently considering a number of appeals against the existing Rateable Values of retail premises within and around Exeter City Centre.

As an illustration, if for example a 10% reduction was achieved on a given rateable value, for every £1,000 of rateable value this would equate to a saving of approximately £45 in rates payable per annum with effect from the date of the Princesshay Shopping Centre opening (20 September 2007) to the end of the Rating List on the 31st March 2010 i.e. approximately 2½ years. The actual saving achieved will of course depend on the amount of rateable value reduction achieved, the rate in the £ in each year, and the extent to which or otherwise your current assessment qualifies for a Small Business Rate Relief or is still within Transitional Relief provisions.

Would you like to share in this good news?

If the answer is ‘yes’ please contact me on 01392 201748 for an initial consultation.

Lloyd Smale FRICS

Drew Pearce – Chartered Surveyors

September 2009