Retailers are due to see the “biggest change in a generation”, with business rates in London and the South East increasing by up to 415% according to a report from commercial property agency Colliers International.
According to the study, 76 of the UK’s main towns and cities will see business rates go up when the next rates evaluation takes place in 2017.
“The 2017 rating revaluation will produce the largest changes to business rates for High Street retailers in a generation,” said John Webber, head of rating at Colliers International. “We now understand that the bulk of assessments have been made and local councils are very nervous about widespread reductions in business rates revenue.”
The retail sector currently contributes around a quarter of the £24 billion in business rates collected each year, with retailers paying the largest proportion of all rate receipts in the UK.
