Farebrother’s Post

The recent budget announcement introduced significant changes that may not be as detrimental as some headlines suggested. From a business rates perspective, while there are no immediate changes on our side of the border, businesses in England will face the following adjustments: ● Permanent Reduction of Lower Rates Multipliers: Starting April 2026-27, there will be a permanent reduction in the lower rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value of under £500,000. ● Higher Multiplier for Larger Properties: This reduction will be financed through a higher multiplier applied to properties with a rateable value of £500,000 and above, which primarily affects large distribution warehouses utilized by online retailers. ● Reduced Rate Relief: In 2025-26, retail, leisure, and hospitality businesses will receive 40% relief on their rates, a decrease from the previous 75%, with a cash cap of £110,000 per business. ● Small Business Rates Multiplier: The small business rates multiplier will be frozen at 49.5p for the 2025-26 period. These changes will require careful consideration as businesses adjust to the new landscape. We await to see what changes the Scottish Government make in December, but should you have any questions regarding your business rates liability please reach out or speak to Paul Lejkowski

Please get in touch if anyone requires help! *Effects of Autumn Statement 2023 and Spring Budget 2024 on Business Rates in England for 2024/25 Multipliers* The Chancellor announced at Autumn Statement 2023 that the Government would freeze the small business multiplier at 49.9p while uprating the standard multiplier by September’s CPI rate of inflation. 2024/25 Multipliers: Non-domestic rating multiplier 54.6p (0.546) Small business non-domestic rating multiplier 49.9p (0.499)   219,410 shops, pubs, restaurants, offices, factories as well as public sector buildings in England will now face a business rates tax hike of £1.66 Billion on 1st April for the 2024/25 financial year, of which £570.45 Million will be shouldered in the Capital and £306.22 Million by the retail sector. Firms in England will now be paying £7.4 Billion a year more in business rates than in 2010. The 6.7% increase, at an effective tax rate of 54.6%, will mean that in April firms paying the higher rate will face the biggest year-on-year increase to the standard multiplier since 1991 despite the UK’s headline rate of inflation set to fall below the target rate of 2% within the coming months. This is no way to encourage investment and foster economic growth especially after two consecutive quarters of contracting GDP. *Extension of Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Relief* There will be an extension of the business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, worth an estimated £2.4 billion in 2024/25. The 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme will continue to provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a 75% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. The Government expects local authorities to include details of the relief to be provided to eligible ratepayers for 2024/25 in their bills for the beginning of the 2024/25 billing cycle.

BUSINESS RATES RELIEF: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE FOR Cardiff would like to offer our congratulations to Vaughan Gething on his appointment as the new First Minister of Wales and to all the members of his newly assembled cabinet. The Welsh Government’s recently refreshed economic mission, as overseen by the new First Minister during his time as Economy Minister, includes a strong commitment to the everyday economy – and there is no clearer marker of the everyday economy than the state of our high streets. For businesses on our high streets, the issue of business rates looms heavily on the horizon. The coming of the new financial year in April marks the point where relief on business rates, introduced during lockdown for retail and hospitality operators, shrinks from 75% to 40%. This move massively increases financial pressure on our shops, cafes, pubs, and bars at a time when other mounting costs across the whole supply chain are pushing businesses to the edge of feasibility already. This issue is particularly pressing in Cardiff, where rateable values, and therefore business rates bills, are higher than elsewhere in Wales. Whilst it was pleasing recently to see the Welsh Government announce a £ 20 million capital fund to support the futureproofing of these high street businesses, the stark reality is that without support on business rates these businesses simply cease to exist. Business owners cannot be expected to look to long-term futureproofing when they are fighting daily to keep the lights on and the doors open. Some or all of this funding could be diverted to councils to use their local knowledge and discretion to offer targeted business rates support to the areas of greatest need and support a more gradual tapering back to full payment. FOR Cardiff urge the Welsh Government in its new format to reconsider their cliff-edge approach to business rates relief and to ensure stronger futures for our high streets in general, and our capital city centre in particular. Read the full letter here: https://lnkd.in/eda38-JD

Can you hang on? The Government has at last committed to reform of business rates. That’s the good news. But it has only promise to create a fairer system over the length of this parliament and in the short term, even for those businesses acknowledged to be particularly vulnerable as costs rise, their rates are scheduled to rise. These are retail, hospitality, and leisure properties valued under £500,000 who will receive 40% relief off their business rates bills up to £110,000 per business to help smooth the transition to the new system. This support is alongside the Budget announcement to freeze the small business multiplier. But it is not set to come in until 2026. To finance these cuts, rates for properties exceeding this value, including large distribution warehouses and online retailers like Amazon, will increase. The government is also legislating to increase the Employment Allowance – a discount in National Insurance bills – from £5,000 to £10,500 from April 2025. In the meantime, Begbies Traynor has warned other rising costs are likely to drive an increase in insolvencies. Also in 2023, the UK experienced its slowest rate of new business creation since 2010, with only 316,000 start-ups compared to 337,000 in 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This decline reduced the 'business birth rate' to 11.0%. The FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) has welcomed the legislation for the significant increase to the Employment Allowance which FSB strongly championed, to protect smaller businesses with employment costs. It has also welcomed the news on proposals to reform business rates, something it has long been calling for. The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) has also welcomed the proposals but wants the government to prioritise business rates reform to “end the unpredictable cycle of rate increases and reduces the overall burden of the system” ahead of the next revaluation in 2026. Do you think the projected waits are too long? Can you hang on for them? #K2BusinessPartners #businessrates #risingbusinesscosts #smallbusinesses    

What does Rachel Reeves' budget mean for UK business buyers and sellers? We'd love to hear your thoughts... The budget introduces several changes that WILL impact UK business buyers and sellers, here are the key points: - Increased Capital Gains Tax (CGT): The lower CGT rate has risen from 10% to 18%, and the higher rate from 20% to 24%. This means sellers will now pay more tax on the proceeds when disposing of a business. - Adjustments to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR): While the £1 million lifetime limit for BADR remains, the tax rate on qualifying gains will increase to 14% in April 2025 and to 18% in April 2026. This reduces the effective ‘entrepreneur’s relief’ and again increases the pay due upon the sale of a business. - Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs): Employer NICs will rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15% from April 2025, and the threshold at which employers start paying NICs will decrease from £9,100 to £5,000 per year. This increases the cost of employment for businesses. Is there an upside? Well, the budget includes a 40% relief on business rates for retail, leisure, and hospitality businesses in 2025-26, up to a maximum discount of £110,000 per business. This will provide some financial relief for businesses in these sectors. How do you think these changes will affect your business decisions? Share your views in the comments below. #UKBusiness #UKInvestors #UKInvesting #BusinessBroker #BusinessMarketplace #EntrepreneurialFinance #BusinessGrowthUK #Budget #Tax

Look out for your 2024/25 Business Rates Bill… Businesses are soon to receive their Rates Bill for the next financial year and there are some key points to understand. Whilst the Rateable Values (RV) remain the same, multipliers have increased. The multiplier is applied to the RV to calculate business rates charges. For smaller properties with RVs under £51,000 this hasn’t changed in England, however larger properties will see their multiplier increase by 6.7% to 54.6p. London businesses with Rateable Values over £75,000 will suffer even more as their multiplier increases even higher to 56.6p. These unprecedented increases add more pressures to costs for UK businesses. A further complexity to this years charges is that the transitional phasing scheme capping large increases takes a step back which means that some businesses will see increases as significant as 40% on last years charges. There are reliefs designed to support certain sectors, retail relief which provides 75% relief on qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure premises has been extended to cover the 24/25 financial year and more recently announced in the spring budget qualifying film studios will benefit from a relief of up to 40% for at least 10 years. If you have any queries on your 2024/25 charges or require specialist business rates advice please get in touch with the team ForeView Ltd. #foreview #businessrates #emptyrates #propertytax #ratesbill #2023revaluation

As your new #businessrates bills start to land, you may notice some increases. Read this article from our MD to understand why. The landscape around business rates is changing massively so if you would like some advice, please send me a message or call on 01925 205060. Always happy to have a chat.

Reforms to Business Rates Immediately after the Budget, the Treasury released a 'discussion paper' called 'Transforming business rates'. It will soon begin asking for views. The paper stated: "Over the parliament, the government will create a fairer business rates system that protects the high-street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century." Ms Reeves announced an intention to introduce "permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties from 2026-27 to level the playing field for the high-street." In further documents, the Government said it is providing £1.9 billion of support to small businesses and the high street in 2025-26 by "freezing the small business multiplier and providing 40% relief on bills for RHL properties, up to a £110,000 cash cap". #BusinessRates #HighStreetSupport #SmallBusiness #RetailReform #HospitalityIndustry #LeisureProperties #EconomicReform #BusinessSupport #InvestmentInBusiness #Budget2024

As your new #businessrates bills start to land, you may notice some increases. Read this article from our MD to understand why. The landscape around business rates is changing massively so if you would like some advice, please send me a message or call on 01925 205060. Always happy to have a chat.

The business rates bill for 2024/25 is starting to land, and for many, this brings an increase in rates payable. But why are your bills increasing? There are two main factors that are influencing business rates bills for 2024/25. Firstly, the multiplier used to calculate rates is increasing for those who have a rateable value above £51,000. This is set to increase from 51.2p in the pound to 54.6p in the pound, which is a 6.7% increase. On top of the change to the multiplier, many will see the benefits of transitional relief start to decrease, and if your rateable value increased in April 2023 during the revaluation, this probably includes you. In times where we are seeing increases in most areas of business and life, it's essential to shave a little off the bottom line where possible. Business rates can be complicated to navigate and understand, but there is help readily available. Altus Group offers a no win no fee service to assess the accuracy of rates assessments and challenge where there is an opportunity to do so. Saving our clients £2bn in rates, Altus Group is at the forefront of reducing the rates UK businesses have to pay. If you're interested in discussing your rates and how we might be able to assist, please reach out to me at 0161 609 0643 or richard.clough@altusgroup.com. Let's work together to reduce your rates and save you money. #businessrates #propertytax #business #businesstax #businesstaxes #office #commercialproperty