Almost half of all local pubs will no longer pay any business rates

The Flying Horse Hotel

Almost half of all local pubs will no longer pay any business rates over the next five years, says CVS Business Rent & Rates Specialists.

There are 169 pubs in Rochdale liable for business rates, of which 69 (41%) have a Rateable Value below £12,000 and due to new measures doubling the small business rates relief threshold, will no longer pay any business rates.

Of the remaining 100 pubs, CVS says 90 have a Rateable Value less than £100,000 and are eligible for the new £1,000 pub discount announced in the Budget - subject to state aid rules - which is 90% of all pubs that will face a rates bill in April.

Ten of the biggest pubs in Rochdale, which have a rateable value over £100,000, won't receive the discount.  However, any business experiencing big hikes in business rates as a result of the revaluation will be able to access a £300million five year hardship fighting fund. This even applies to those pubs that are set to receive the pub discount.

Mark Rigby, Chief Executive of CVS, who met with the Secretary of State ahead of the Budget to press for financial help for pubs, said: "Rating for pubs is notoriously complex. Unlike other rates assessments which are based on rents, valuations for pubs are based on an assessment of ‘fair maintainable trade’, which is calculated using information on turnover, services offered, the local area and other factors."

He added: “Businesses should always make sure that they are paying fair and accurate rates liabilities, and if not, then they should seek to challenge their new property assessment by way of lodging an appeal with a professional agent.”

Over one million businesses in England challenged their last property assessment with almost one in three receiving a rebate through a successful appeal.