Since announcing free business rates audits in a bid to get Britain prepared for the incoming 1 April 2023 deadline, Cluttons says that it has seen a flurry of businesses looking to save costs and prepare for new liability levels.

In the last few days alone, the company reports that it has seen 350 properties worth over £7m in rateable values with the potential to save several hundreds of thousands for the businesses involved thanks to backdated payments.

The business rates specialist also points out that despite the 1 April deadline seeming a long way away, the quicker rates are checked by the Valuation Office, the quicker repayments can be made and the more likely future rateable values are likely to be positively affected for businesses struggling amid a perfect storm of energy costs, rising inflation and interest rates and economic uncertainty.

Ryan Jones, partner in business rates at Cluttons, said: “The closer we get to the deadline, the more checks will be submitted for the Valuation Office to deal with. Never has being prepared been more crucial. Around December, the VOA is likely to publish the intended rating list for April 2023 and this will create many layers of administrative work for businesses in addition to ongoing and future checks that will take time to wade through. Businesses that leave their audits and checks to the last minute are potentially writing off thousands of savings that can be backdated six years – the length of the current business cycle.”

The Valuation Office Agency typically publishes its rating list around four months before the new rating list comes into force. In this case it is likely to be in December 2022 before April 2023. Despite the recent consultation on the transitional relief for business rates ending soon, it is unlikely that the results will filter their way into the impending Emergency Budget expected on Wednesday 21 September due to the new administration.

This means that although various emergency measures may be announced for small business, any further long-term structural reform is likely to be some way off.

As part of its warning to ‘get cracking on business rates’ Cluttons points to recent ongoing work with a variety of different sized businesses across a range of sectors where backdated savings are very much in reach.

One occupier landlord client Cluttons is working with currently has 40 sites and has seen almost a quarter of them eligible for savings, a total that could be upwards of £500,000.  While an industrial occupier in Salford with just one premises is likely to see savings of £20,000 over the course of the 2017 rating list.

Michael Hampton-Riddington, head of business rates at Cluttons, commented: “Typically the proportion of business costs outside of talent have been ranked in order of rent being largest, followed by rates then perhaps utilities. Given the current energy crisis, energy costs may even have overtaken business rates possibly in cost, but definitely in terms of levels of concern. However, with no immediate solution to energy, businesses should focus on the very real opportunity to mitigate their ongoing costs and potentially receive thousands in refunds by checking their rateable values now, before their opportunity is lost and well ahead of the 31^st March 2023 deadline.”

He added: “While the obvious focus is very much on smaller and mid-sized businesses who need as much financial support as possible, we must not forget the larger businesses with multiple properties, pension funds and public sector bodies that also own and occupy real estate and who have a duty to ensure finances are protected to support real people in the long term.”

High street estate agents set for sharp rise in business rates bill