Over £59,400 Saved Through the Application of Reliefs
Case study:
Safe and Vault Supplier | Essex, East Anglia
Specialists in the sale and hire of safes and vaults with in-house locksmith service, providing both new and refurbished for commercial and personal use.
KEY
FACTS
£59,470.83
TOTAL SAVINGS
Warehouse
PROPERTY TYPE
July ’26
REVIEW COMPLETED
The Client
Based in the South of Essex, our client specialises in the sale, hire and transportation of new and refurbished safes and vaults. Offering a range of products for both commercial and residential use, they provide security products and services to customers across the country.
RVA Surveyors were instructed in June 2026 to conduct an in-depth review of the client’s warehouse property to identify whether any savings could be made on their business rates liabilities. While our surveyors found no grounds to proceed through Check Challenge Appeal (CCA), our Audit Team successfully identified savings through the application of business rates reliefs.
The Solution
During the review of the property, our Audit Team identified that the client had been eligible for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Relief during the 2023 rating list but had not received the relief.
As customers are able to visit the premises to drop off and collect safes and vaults, the property met the criteria for the relief, allowing our team to pursue backdated RHL Relief.
Following the introduction of the 2026 rating list, our client’s business rates liability also increased. As the increase exceeded the 15% Supporting Small Business (SSB) threshold, the client became eligible for SSB.
To secure both the backdated RHL Relief and SSB, our Audit Team worked directly with the local authority to apply on the client’s behalf. Supporting evidence was collected and provided to demonstrate that customers could visit the premises, alongside evidence of the increase in the client’s business rates liability.
The Outcome
Following the submission of the applications and supporting evidence, the local authority awarded our client both backdated Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief and Supporting Small Business.
This resulted in £47,879.06 in RHL Relief, backdated to April 2023, alongside £11,591.77 in SSB. In total, RVA Surveyors secured total savings of £59,470.83 for our client.
