With many businesses feeling the reduction in spending due to the cost of living crisis, utilising as many grants and business relief as possible is a key way to keep on top of cash flow and reduce outgoings.
Business rates relief, in particular, covers a variety of discounts, including exempted buildings relief, rural rate relief and transitional relief, which you may be able to get from your local council to reduce your commercial expenditure.
Also known as commercial rates, business rates are taxes that are applied to non-domestic properties, where local councils charge business owners an annual bill to contribute to local services such as the police or fire brigade. However, business rate relief can help reduce the tax your business will pay on their commercial properties to protect the longevity of small businesses, rural establishments and charities.
With this in mind, we sent out Freedom of Information requests to councils across the UK to find out which regions offer the highest levels of relief but also which have seen the biggest increases in rates.
Top 10 councils that offered the most business rate relief:
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (£135,568,085.00)
- City of Glasgow (£128,692,883.00)
- Manchester City Council (£98,842,386.00)
- Leeds City Council (£97,924,619.49)
- London Borough of Bromley (£95,332,866.63)
- Bristol City Council (£65,842,261.22)
- London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (£60,514,564.59)
- Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (£47,850,640.79)
- Highland Council (£46,068,169.37)
- Nottingham City Council (£46,021,874.00)
Of those councils that responded and recorded the information, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council came top for the most business rate relief offered to local businesses, with a reported £135.5 million saved last year. Businesses in the City of Glasgow were provided with £128.6 million due to the relief, with Manchester City Council deducting £98.8 million across the city’s live accounts.
The top 10 councils which saw the biggest percentage increases in business rates charged:
- North West Leicestershire (29.13%)
- Great Yarmouth Borough Council (22.19%)
- London Borough of Lambeth (19.27%)
- Dumfries and Galloway Council (16.24%)
- Swale Borough Council (15.02%)
- London Borough of Hackney (14.66%)
- Ashfield District Council (13.63%)
- Thurrock Council (12.44%)
- Central Bedfordshire Council (12.17%)
- North Lanarkshire Council (11.49%)
North West Leicestershire Council came top for the biggest percentage increase in business rates, with a reported 29% increase across the last five years. Great Yarmouth Borough Council saw a 22.19% increase across the same time period, followed by the London Borough of Lambeth (19.27%).
The top 10 councils which saw the biggest percentage decreases in business rates charged:
- Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (-99.92%)
- Monmouthshire Council (-34.03%)
- South Gloucestershire District Council (-32.96%)
- South Hams District Council (-26.96%)
- Broadland District Council (-26.11%)
- Rushmoor Borough Council (19.99%)
- Nottingham City Council (19.84%)
- New Forest District Council (19.09%)
- Argyll & Bute Council (-17.14%)
- Elmbridge Borough Council (16.29%)
The council with the biggest decrease in businesses rates from the last five years was Newcastle upon Tyne City Council, with a reported 99.9% and a total of £33 million saved in 2022, followed by Monmouthshire Council (-34.03%) and South Gloucestershire District Council (-32.96%).
If you are struggling with rising business rates and are unable to take advantage of the relief available, reviewing your current plant and machinery, excess stock and other business assets and streamlining will save you space and allow you to enhance your cash flow. Selling your assets through a disposal specialist like BPI, means you could have the cash in your bank in just a few short weeks.
Contact us today to learn more about our hassle-free disposal solutions and unlock the hidden value in your assets.
