Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief Scheme
On 22 November 2023, the Chancellor announced that the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme will be extend to cover 2024-25. The scheme will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 75% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business.
However, it is important to review the following details to ensure that you still qualify.
Qualification criteria
The scheme provides 75% relief to eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, up to a maximum cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. The property must be occupied (i.e. open/trading), and allow reasonable access to visiting members of the public.
To qualify for the relief the business property should be wholly or mainly used for retail purposes.
Under the cash cap, no ratepayer in any circumstances can exceed the £110,000 cash cap across all of their business properties in England. Where a ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer (i.e. one is a subsidiary of the other) then those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps.
The cash cap applies at a Group company level (so holding companies and subsidiaries cannot claim up to the cash cap for each company) and also to organisations which, although not a company, have such an interest in a company that they would, if they were a company, result in its being the holding company.
UK subsidy rules
Furthermore, the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme is subject to the Minimal Financial Assistance limits under the Subsidy Control Act. This means no recipient can receive over £315,000 over a 3-year period (consisting of the current financial year and the 2 previous financial years). Extended Retail Discounts granted in 2021/22 do not count towards the limit. Covid business grants received from local government and any other subsidy claimed under the Minimal Financial Assistance or Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit over the 3-year period should be counted.
Therefore, to be eligible for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief you must not have exceeded either the £110,000 cash cap for 2024/25 or the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit of £315,000 over 3 years (including 2024/25). Further details of the cash cap and subsidy control can be found at: retail, hospitality, and leisure scheme guidance.
Action required by you
Please check your revised bill. You only need to notify us if any of the following 3 options are relevant:
- National cash caps are exceeded
- The property is empty
- You wish to refuse this relief (If you opt out of the expanded retail discount for the 2024 to 2025 tax year you cannot change your mind.)
If none of the above is relevant, no further action is needed.
Please email us at businessrates@hillingdon.gov.uk if your business does not qualify for the expanded discount from 1 April 2024 stating the reason the property does not qualify. If the property is empty, please state the date the property became completely empty.