Business rates...

[Jamster123]

Could anyone give me a quick summary of what business rates are as a complete novice.

Looking at renting premises around £25000 per annum.

This is the info I have

"From enquiries made with the local assessors, we are advised that the property has been assessed for rating purposes and is entered in the Valuation Roll for the current year as follows:
NAV/RV £19,700
The Uniform Business Rate, exclusive of water and sewerage charges, for the 2010/2011 financial year is as follows:
£0-£35,000 - 40.7 pence in the pound Over £35,000 - 41.4 pence in the pound"

What fees can I expect to pay on top of the rent or how do I find out, through council ?

[Jamster123]

Thanks Andy,

Do you know if there Is there any relief from council if this were a new start/venture etc? Or any other form of relief ?

Im assuming all business rated are tax deductible, but hopefully might be further relief from council.

[Jamster123]

Quattromaster said:

Don't you get small business relief on the first 13k.

I'm in process of looking at buying a unit, and the rateable value is £13,600,

Id heard something along these lines which Im hoping is true.

[Jamster123]

Chrisgr31 said:

I am assuming this property is in Scotland. The rate in the pound is I believe 0.48, so you are looking at a rates bill of £9,456, probably increasing to around £9,600 for 2015/16. There is a revaluation coming in 2017 where the rateable value will change to reflect 2015 rental values so in your case around £25,000.

If the property is an office or retail unit and has been empty for more than 12 months it might qualify for fresh start relief which gives a 50% reduction in rates for the first year you occupy. It then reverts to the 100% above.

This assumes it is not in an enterprise zone.

What dies surprise me is that the agents particulars seem to quote the rates payable in 2010 so 5 years ago. That would imply it might have been on the market since then. In which case you should be looking to do a significant deal on the rent. I assume you have no surveyor advising you? You might want to get one and pay them on a results basis.

Its a strange one... The property is in Cardonald Glasgow, Its an old bank that was once occupied by a solicitors... Its been empty since I moved here around 5 years ago.

Location is excellent for what Im going to do.

At one stage I was interested in buying it with an investor, we viewed it but the seller really doesn't seem interested in selling, or renting for that matter as communication has always been poor.

Its is listed though as for rent... wonder if any locals have more info on it?

http://www.g-s.co.uk/Find+Property/1202/

Im planning on using it as our base of operations/bathroom showroom.

The business has been running for a few years but we have just launched 2 new separate companies, which Im wondering whether will qualify as new business and therefore perhaps subject to rates relief.

Edited by Jamster123 on Tuesday 29th September 22:28

[Jamster123]

The parking issue isn't a major for me, There is space for 4/5 cars outside the adjacent shop and also the parking at rear/side. From a showroom perspective I would only expect 2-3 visitors per day at best... and as an office Ill only really ever have 2-5 people in there. Its 5 mins from home too which is nice.

The big attraction for me is advertising. The building is screaming to be lit up (We are electrical contractors to trade) and the traffic passing is constant all day long, The advertising potential is worth the rent alone to me. We could really make that spot a little landmark.

tried contacting agents again today, still waiting on call back.... Thats happened several times now.

Not really getting anywhere. Really seems like they don't want shift.