Client: Brookhouse Group
Brookhouse Group is a property investment and development company, particularly active in northern England, whose varied portfolio of property investments ranges from retail warehouses to industrial units. In April 2008, it found itself facing a huge empty rates bill following the newly introduced legislation that affected many landlords for the first time.
The properties particularly affected included a large retail unit, a factory and two retail warehouses. Recognising that there were new issues to tackle under the new legislation, it appointed our rating experts to advise on its liabilities.
Solution
The main thrust of our argument was that all three properties should be entirely removed from the Rating List, for the following reasons:
- The large retail unit was in the process of being internally reconfigured to create three smaller units and was not capable of occupation
- The factory was part of a regeneration scheme awaiting planning permission, and was no longer capable of occupation due to its age and general poor condition – to put it back into repair would have been uneconomic
- The two retail warehouses could not be occupied for health and safety reasons following a careful appraisal of the fabric of the buildings and their age.
The results
Our rating team were successful in their negotiations with the Valuation Office. All three rating assessments were removed from the Rating List, saving Brookhouse Group over £200,000 in property taxes.
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