Case study:

Clock Manufacturer | London

KEY
FACTS

£17,258
SAVINGS

Office & Premises
PROPERTY TYPE

The Client

Based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, our client are experts in the building and manufacturing of unique clocks and time pieces. With almost 60 years in the trade, their complex designs have seen them become one of the leading clock makers in the UK.

The Problem

Our client is both the owner and occupier of the property, who sublet part of the premises. Once the tenant had vacated that part of the property, the owners struggled to find another to take occupancy and decided to re-occupy the premises for their own use.

With the updated lease now stating the owners occupy both spaces within the same property, this led to incorrect business rates liabilities as they were incorrectly split. The updated lease for the property now showed evidence of our client liable for the re-occupied space (RV £9,600) and the main assessment (RV £36,500).

The Solution

To resolve this, a merge to combine the two premises was proposed to the clients, combining the two assessments into one. This would ensure the client only pays for one rates bill, and in turn lead to potential savings on their business rates.

RVA Surveyors conducted a thorough inspection of both premises, collecting the required evidence such as lease documents and current rates bills, to submit a Check to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) requesting a merge to the start of the current rating period.

The Outcome

The request to merge the properties and combine into one assessment was successful and accepted by the VOA, bringing down the new rateable value to £34,500, resulting in total savings of over £17,200 backdating to beginning of the current ratings period.

Merging the two properties now ensures our client’s business rates liabilities reflect their occupancy and align with the businesses use of both premises.