Specialist window experts save thousands on business rates with RVA Surveyors
Case study:
PVCu Window System Manufacturers | Burnley
Long established Manufacturers of PVCu Windows and door systems based in Burnley, Lancashire.
KEY
FACTS
£40,325
SAVINGS
Factory
PROPERTY TYPE
The Client
Established in Germany, our client are leading PVCu window manufacturers who opened their UK production site 40 years ago in Burnley, Lancashire. Due to demand for their products, our client has expanded multiple times over the years leading to an extensive site which includes factory, warehouse and office spaces spanning over 39,323 sq. meters.
The Problem
Although each site is occupied by the client and on the same premise, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) valued the sites separately creating multiple assessments instead of one, leading to incorrect and inflated business rates. To bring these assessments together, RVA Surveyors visited the property to collect evidence and submitted to the VOA as a Check to Merge.
Included on the property are offices which contain asbestos and no longer in use due to health risks. As the offices are unusable space, no value had been placed since the 2005 rating list. However, once the Check to merge had been submitted and agreed by the VOA, they reapplied a value to these offices.
The Solution
With the reapplication of value to the affected offices, a Challenge case was put forward to remove the applied value. To ensure this would be a success, supporting evidence was required.
As our surveyor was unable to enter the office due to health risks, documentation and photographic evidence from previous asbestos inspections were collected to support the case. This included photographs and dimensions of the office, dates of the original and last inspections, how much asbestos there is, its condition, and any details or copies of asbestos registers for the rooms affected.
The Outcome
As a result of the collected evidence to merge assessments and removal of the applied value to the asbestos filled offices, the VOA accepted the Challenge reducing the Rateable Value from £930,000 to £905,000 leading to overall savings of £40,325 for our client.
With the 2026 revaluation and rating list soon in affect, our client will now enter this period knowing they have the correct business rates and liabilities.
