Andrew West of Cooke and Arkwright offers his recommendations for how businesses can review their liabilities to business rates as the revaluation deadline looms.

We are now just 9 months away from the implementation of the 2023 business rate revaluation. The Valuation Office Agency is well advanced in preparing the new values which will be available in December 2022.

Time is therefore limited in mounting a reasoned challenge to rating assessments. Any success achieved in reducing the assessment could potentially have an impact over the full 6 year life of the current 2017 rating list, running from 1^st April 2017 until 31^st March 2023.

I would therefore urge all businesses who have not considered the correctness or otherwise of their assessment to do so as a matter of increasing urgency.   This should be done using a suitably qualified chartered surveyor who has specific expertise in the complex field of rating valuation.

This course of action is particularly recommended for businesses with assessments in excess of £50,000 RV which have not benefitted from the Covid 19 rate relief schemes.  It is likely that assessments below this will also have access to other reliefs and exemptions.

Cooke & Arkwright have saved our clients in excess of £80 million in business rate payments to date for the current 2017 rating list.

We represent our clients on a success related basis whereby fees are raised in the event of a revised liability.

Cooke & Arkwright would be pleased to advise. If you are interested please contact:

• Andrew West:  andrew.west@coark.com
• Jane Shankland: jane.shankland@coark.com
• Huw Jones:  huw.jones@coark.com