Property expert GVA is advising owners of large industrial property in the Midlands to check the rateable values on their premises, as they may be missing out on making substantial savings.
The advice follows the successful negotiation of a swathe of reductions in rateable values from the 2010 List on client’s properties by GVA’s specialist Business Rates team.
Successful reductions have been made on a range of large properties, from post-war factories to modern distribution warehouses – including one 750,000 sq ft factory in East Birmingham – with many values coming in below their 2005 List values, potentially representing savings of tens of thousands of pounds.
Lists of properties’ rateable values are compiled every five years, based on fixed valuation dates, with the most recent List completed in 2010.
Graham Knight, Director, Business Rates at GVA, said: “We have successfully negotiated reductions that have brought the rateable values of these units down to their pre-2005 List levels, effectively setting a substantial precedent in the market. The lack of evidence of any rental growth in the market between the 2005 and 2010 Lists has been a vital element of our argument for reduction when negotiating with the Valuation Office.
“These reductions are a huge benefit for our clients who are naturally delighted, as in the case of one of our clients who will make a saving well in excess of £70,000 over the next two financial years.”
As well as wider economic pressures, a rateable value can be affected by modifications and alterations made to premises and Graham is clear that no business should look to query the current rateable value of a property without first consulting a chartered surveyor.
Graham continued: “We would advise that even those ratepayers who feel that their rateable values were reasonable, for example if they had not increased between the 2005 and 2010 Lists should reconsider. However, it is absolutely vital that any ratepayers who believe that they may be entitled to a reduction in the rateable value of their property firstly consult with a qualified chartered surveyor to ensure that the correct due diligence process has been followed, as values can go up as well as down.”
A rateable value – the equivalent to a building’s annual rent if it was let on the open market – is calculated for all non-domestic properties in the UK once every five years. This fixed valuation cycle is used to ensure that all buildings are valued at the same time and to ensure as much fairness as possible, with all rates entered into a national list.