Unique Book Stockist reduces their business rates with RVA Surveyors
Case study:
Art Publication Stockist | Salisbury
Situated near Salisbury, our client specialises in selling rare and exclusive 20th Century and contemporary books and publications.
KEY
FACTS
£6,639
SAVINGS
Office
PROPERTY TYPE
The Client
Situated in Salisbury, our client specialises in selling rare and exclusive 20th Century and contemporary art publications, including first and special editions, exhibition catalogues, photography journals and more.
With two locations including a physical store in Central London, the Salisbury property consists of an office where they store their recently acquired books and journals.
The Problem
The client took occupation in their Salisbury property back in September 2021, with an agreed rent of £8,000 and Rateable Value (RV) of £11,000. However, the RV increased to £14,250 in the 2023 ratings list and no longer sat in line with the client’s agreed rent.
A scheme set by the local council our client was included in stated, “The value is applicable to average quality offices in villages within Salisbury District Council area.’
The Solution
One of our expert surveyors noticed that this scheme and RV was not reflective of the annual rent and location of the property during their inspection, seeing an opportunity to rectify this by requesting a reduction in price per square meter or a new scheme be introduced.
A Challenge was submitted on behalf of the client to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) requesting these changes be put in place, which was accepted and led to a completely new scheme being created confirming “The value is applicable to offices in converted military buildings in Chilmark Salisbury”.
The Outcome
This led to a successful reduction in price per square metre from £110 to £65 with effect from April 2023, and a 41% reduction in the clients Rateable Value (RV) totalling over £6,600 in savings.
Not only was this a success for our client, but due to the new scheme coming into effect, all other properties within the area that had a similar property description would also benefit from this scheme with reductions in price per square metre applied to their assessments as well.
