Peter Foley is our resident guru here at CPA, and has been passionately following the shifting world of business rates for many years. With a keen political insight, Peter’s writing reveals how policy change is key to understanding your business rates further, and how this could translate into substantial savings. In his weekly column, Peter also outlines a desired path forward, with changes we’d like to see implemented for a fairer system on the nation's business rates.
It couldn't have been predicted, even just a few years ago, that soon many of us would be working largely or in part from home, and that office space would be radically re-designed in consequence.
Yet this dramatic change has indeed occurred, and looks like being permanent. The buzz words are "flexible working space". which may include re-designing offices in favour of communal working areas, "break-out" areas for team activities, enhanced spaces for meeting clients, and a "central hub" supported by a flexible array of working options.
Does this fundamental change mean that your rates bill now requires to be challenged, based as it probably is on traditional serried ranks of offices and little communal space?
In a world in which employee wellbeing and team spirit increasingly influence the design of our working environments, it makes sense to check out your rates bills, and do remember that CPA's formal challenges are free of charge, its fees agreed in advance and outcome-based.
For a professional re-appraisal of your rates liability, why not contact Commercial Property Advisors (CPA), whose RICS-regulated surveyors are well-versed in challenging valuations calculated along traditional lines and one -size- fits -all models.