Adrian Smith Rating has developed a comprehensive range of cost effective services that encompass all aspects of business rate liability. This enables Adrian Smith Rating to tailor our services to meet clients’ individual requirements for the management of business rating liabilities and to optimise the savings that may be realised.

Unlike many other business rating consultants that provide services that are limited to appealing decisions of the VOA, Adrian Smith Rating is able to offer a holistic approach to managing your business rating liabilities, to enable an approach to be developed and tailored to meet your requirements. These services encompass the following key client requirements:

• Strategic business rating advice.
• Preparing and submitting appeals and managing the appeals process.
• Progressing the payment of refunds
• Advising on the implications of the revaluation of business rates that become effective on 1st April 2010.

Strategic Business Rating Advice

It is important that businesses take a strategic approach to managing potential and future business rate liabilities.

Adrian Smith Rating has developed constructive relationships with clients, to enable an understanding of the factors associated with the use and occupation of the premises that may reduce business rate liabilities on an ongoing basis. This proactive approach enables information to be presented in a manner that is favourable to the client, enabling savings to be realised at the earliest opportunity.

Strategic business rating advice services provided to the client include, though are not limited to the following:

• Identifying and monitoring opportunities to reduce rating liabilities at the inception and throughout the lifetime of projects that may affect the use, occupation, modification and layout of premises.
• Advising on ongoing legal developments in the business rating sector, and, where appropriate, assessing the impact these changes may have on current and future liabilities, and taking steps to minimise the implications to clients’ business interests.
• Monitoring opportunities to reduce business rating liabilities.
• Auditing existing and historic rate liabilities to identify cases for which rating assessments are inaccurate and warrant an appeal.
• Advising on the revised 2010 Rating Assessments that will be effective from 1st April 2010.

To contact Adrian Smith to discuss opportunities to take a strategic support to manage rating liabilities, click here

Rating Appeals

It is important that, as a business ratepayer, assessments are periodically reviewed to ensure that the information held by the VOA and the billing authority is accurate, and that all appropriate reliefs and allowances are applied, to minimise current and future rate liabilities.

Experience demonstrates that a proactive approach to managing historic and current business rate liabilities can generate significant savings for businesses. Adrian Smith has therefore developed a package of services to appeal assessments of the VOA and the billing authority, to optimise the value of any refunds made.

These services include, though are not limited to the following:

• Undertaking the review of business rating assessments to determine:
  • The accuracy of the information used to inform the assessment.
  • Whether the rate liability represents and undervaluation or overvaluation of the premises.
  • The viability and implications of an appeal.
  • Compliance with regulatory requirements for the administration and management of the assessment by the VOA and the billing authority.
• Providing strategic advice to enable the selection of the most appropriate and effective methods of securing maximum rebates both retrospectively and going forward
• Preparing and submitting appeals within the regulatory time limits.
• Negotiating claims with the Valuation Office Agency and billing authorities to secure the most advantageous position for the client.
• Minimising liabilities associates with empty property rates.
• Representing the client in the capacity of appointed Rating Agent at Valuation Tribunals where required.

To contact Adrian Smith to discuss opportunities for the review of rating assessments and the assessment of the viability and value of savings that may be realised, click here

Progressing the Payment of Refunds

Where refunds are agreed with the Valuation Office Agency, on occasions, the billing authorities have:

• Delayed the payment of refunds,
• Issued refunds that are inconsistent with the value agreed with the VOA.

Adrian Smith Rating does not consider an appointment ends when an agreement is reached for the amendment of the rate liability. The services provided extend to pursuing the timely refund of overpayments, and to ensure that the billing authorities refund the value agreed.

Adrian Smith Rating is able to support you to recover any agreed reduction in rate liability, and where appropriate, claim interest on overpayments from the Billing Authority

To contact Adrian Smith to discuss approaches to realising the prompt repayment of refunds from the Billing Authority/Valuation Office Agency click here

2010 Business Rating Revaluation

Business rates are a significant overhead for businesses. Typically, these are equivalent to 45% of the annual rental value.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is required to revalue rateable-values for non-domestic premises every five years. The VOA has recently completed this task. The revised rateable-values will be effective from 1st April 2010. These values are based on hypothetical rental values for premises on 1st April 2008, a time of relative prosperity compared to the current economic climate and a buoyant commercial property market.

Commentary on the revised rateable-values suggests that, as a result of the deterioration of the commercial property market, the inaccuracy of the information used by the VOA and the billing authorities to calculate rateable-values, and, in an effort to correct the undervaluation of premises during the 2005 revaluation, rateable-values may increase significantly during the intervening 5 year period. To enable businesses to adjust to the increased rating liabilities, transitional relief will be available to address large changes in individual rateable values. In these instances, rating liabilities will increase year on year, with substantial increases realised over the five year period.

The VOA is currently issuing summary valuations to rate-payers, specifying the revised rateable-values and summarising the information that forms the basis of the assessment.

As the rateable-value is based on the potential rental value of the premises, the figure is influenced by a range of factors including the circumstances of the site, facilities installed, and the physical, geographical and economic attributes of the site location.

Given the sensitivity of the rental value to these factors and the limited information held by the VOA and the billing authority, it is important that the summary valuations and resulting rate demands are scrutinised and the information used to inform the assessment reviewed. This will identify whether the rateable value is accurate and all appropriate reliefs and adjustments are applied to calculate the rate liability.

Given the limited information available to the VOA and the billing authorities, rating liabilities are often inaccurate and are frequently successfully challenged. However, the business rating system is complex and a short term savings may result in greater expense in the long term.

To contact Adrian Smith to discuss your revised rating assessment and the approach of the Valuation Office Agency and the Billing Authority to the 2010 business rating click here