Rateable value is the keystone of your business rates. But it's not an exact science – it's hypothetical, an opinion of value reached by the Valuation Office. It's not a straightforward area and it takes expertise to challenge it. Working closely with our active agency business gives us real-time, in-depth market knowledge, so we can get behind the data and question it in a way that the Valuation Office won't.
Our rating surveyors have extensive experience in both the public and private sectors – many of them give evidence at valuation tribunal and lands tribunal cases. We're up to date with changing legislation and our knowledge of the rating system is unrivaled.
Our objectives
We deliver timely advice on whether it's appropriate to launch appeals, setting out a clear business case. We'll draw on our valuation expertise and specialist rating knowledge to make sure your rateable value is as low as possible. We actively respond to the government on any prospective changes to legislation, and we'll ensure you're kept well informed of any changes in the law that might affect your rate liability.
Co-ordination with other bodies
We're well represented across the RSA National Committee, RSA local retail committees and IRRV National Rating Committee, and we're in direct discussion with the CEO of the Valuation Office Agency. It gives us a strong voice in the rating industry and means we're fully in touch with the legislative landscape.
Prior agreement
Our clients are happy to recover overpayments – but we know they'd rather not have overpaid in the first place. We fully support the prior agreement process, which will enable some valuations and fundamentals of the valuation approach to be agreed before the 2010 Rating List becomes live. We're in discussion with the Valuation Office Agency on the approach to specialist properties such as ports. And the more points are ironed out before the Rating List is published, the less need there'll be for appeals later.
Material change of circumstances
Your rate liability could be affected by any number of temporary factors or permanent changes in the surrounding area. But for material change appeals to carry weight, ensuring that issues are communicated quickly and organising a co-ordinated response are vital. We're proactive in making sure these factors are noted and reported. We maintain close communication with clients on MCC issues – and that means we have eyes and ears all over the country. We're actively involved in the RSA MCC process: by issuing email alerts to other agents involved in retail premises, we can co-ordinate a larger response, giving our appeals more weight.
Methods of valuation
Different properties require different means of valuation. We use a number of methods, including the traditional rental approach, the contractor's basis and the profits method. Evaluating the right approach is about being in touch with the market and being wise to how it works. We've got the market knowledge of our agency network at our disposal and the breadth of experience to advise our clients on a vast range of property types.
Case law
Our team remains up to date with the latest case law affecting the industry. It's another valuable tool in our drive to minimise your rate liability. By pursuing cases to the lands tribunal, we help to set precedents and we support other parties involved in cases that have an industry-wide benefit.