UK Business Rates Advisor

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What are Business Rates?

Business Rates are a tax on the right to occupy commercial property and typically equate to approximately 50% of annual rent. As such, they represent one of the largest overheads for businesses and substantially impact on the profitability of many organisations.

 

How are Business Rates calculated?

Business Rates are calculated by multiplying the Rateable Value (RV) of a property by the Uniform Business Rates (UBR). The RV is the Valuation Office’s estimate of a property’s market rent at a set valuation date. We are currently in the 2023 Rating List with Rateable Values being based on a valuation date of 1st April 2021.

How we can help?

Since Business Rates are based on the Valuation Office’s estimate of the annual rental of a property, the calculation is open to challenge. The Knight Frank Business Rates team consists of both Chartered Surveyors and Rate Payment and Audit Specialists, drawing on over 50 years of experience in managing the complexities of the rating system. Our role is to actively seek to reduce your rate liabilities, ultimately placing your company in a better financial position.

 

What we do?

In simple terms, we use our experience and knowledge of the rating system to mitigate your rate liabilities. The areas of work are identified as follows:

Challenge and Appeal


Challenge and Appeal


Our rating experts can advise if there are grounds to challenge your Rateable Value and guide you through the complex appeal procedures introduced for the 2017 Rating List. To initiate this process, ratepayers need to register on the Government Gateway website.

Rate Payment and Council Tax Management


Rate Payment and Management


We provide a full service for the payment and management of your rates for large or small portfolios together with all the necessary rating advice, supporting financial data and reporting.

Empty Rates Mitigation


Empty Rates Mitigation


In the event you are vacating a property or taking a phased occupation, we can help to ensure you benefit from the maximum amount of relief. In some instances, we can mitigate your liability by securing successive periods of relief.

Disturbance Refunds


Disturbance Refunds


If your business is being affected by a nearby development, we can help you apply for rates relief and lodge appeals citing a material change in circumstance. The reduction will be applied for the period of the disturbance.

Rate Audit


Rate Audit

We can review all the historic payments back to 1990 to check your rate demands have been correctly calculated and claim any overpaid refunds.

Testimonials

We have used Knight Frank’s rating service over the last 10 years and we have always been impressed at their professionalism and the level of savings they have secured. We have no hesitation in recommending them.

Tony Grimes, Head of Facilities, Investec

January 2019

For Henderson Global Investors, active management of Business Rates is one of the key components in controlling our accommodation cost base. We use Knight Frank, and have for many years, because of the results they achieve on our behalf. They are proactive, innovative and consistent, and we believe, the Number One firm for Business Rates.

Fred Kinahan, Head of Facilities Management, Henderson Global Investment

August 2019

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Knight Frank Rating Team for the outstanding efficiency, quality of service and professionalism that they have demonstrated. From the moment Knight Frank were retained on the portfolio there has been nothing but admiration for the manner in which they have dealt with effectively managing and mitigating our rates liability. It has been an absolute pleasure working with the team and I look forward to this partnership continuing long into the future.

Maz Osman, Senior Asset Manager, Quintain Estates and Developments

April 2019