Business rates worth the relief?

Business rates relief has been extended for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector but, with the rate of discount cut from 75% to 40%, many English businesses will face a near doubling of their rates bill for 2025/26.

Next year’s changes for 2025/26
Retail, hospitality and leisure properties not qualifying for small business rates relief currently receive a 75% business rates discount, subject to a cap of £110,000 per business. This relief is to continue for 2025/26, but with the rate of discount cut to 40%:

• A business rates bill consists of a property’s rateable value multiplied by a multiplier.
• For 2025/26, the small business multiplier (rateable value below £51,000) is again frozen at 49.9p. This covers over a million properties in England.
• The standard multiplier (rateable value £51,000 or more) is being uprated from 54.6p to 55.5p.

 
On the one hand, businesses will be relieved that the business rates discount will not cease altogether on 31 March 2025. However, on the other, they will be disappointed with the level of replacement discount.
 
Property will typically qualify for the 40% discount if the business is mainly being used as a shop; restaurant, café, bar or pub; cinema or music venue; or gym, spa or hotel.
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2026/27 onwards
With the aim of implementing a fairer system of business rates, permanently lower multipliers will be introduced for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value below £500,000:

• This reduction will be funded by a new higher multiplier for properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or higher.
• The higher multiplier will include most large distribution warehouses, including those used by online retailers.

 
The Government will also be consulting on other areas for reform. For example, where the presence of cliff-edges in the system acts as a disincentive to expand.
 
There are currently no details yet of any discounts for property in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, nor have multipliers been announced. Welsh retail, hospitality and leisure property currently benefits from a 40% discount.
 
Details of the business rates reliefs currently available in England can be found here.