Business

Business Rates revaluation 2026

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Significant changes are taking place to Business Rates from 1 April this year. We know these changes, introduced by the Government, are causing some concern for businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry.

One this page we explain what’s changing and why, as well as provide information on action you may be able to take.

What are Business Rates?

Business Rates are a form of local property tax paid by most commercial properties such as shops, pubs, warehouses, offices etc.

Although Business Rates are collected locally by councils like Wychavon, we only keep about 50% of the money. The rest of the money raised locally through Business Rates is sent back to the Government who then redistribute it as a grant to councils across the country using a complex formula based on population size, social needs and other factors to ensure the proceeds of economic growth are shared fairly across the country.

How are Business Rates calculated?

Your Business Rates bills is based on two factors:

Rateable Value (RV): This is an estimate of your property’s annual rent on the open market at a specific valuation date. It is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in England and Wales, not the council.
Multiplier: This is a figure set by the Government each year and is a rate in the pound. Local councils like Wychavon take your Rateable Value and multiply it by the multiplier to calculate your bill.

For For the current financial year of 2025/26 there are two types of multiplier:

Small Business Multiplier for properties with a Rateable Value below £51,000: 49.9 pence in the pound
Standard Multiplier for properties with a Rateable Value above £51,000: 55.5 pence in the pound

What’s happening to Business Rates from 1 April 2026?

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) regularly updates the rateable values of over 2 million commercial properties in England and Wales.

This process reflects changes in the market and is known as a revaluation. The business rates changes due to come into force from 1 April 2026 is based on valuation data from April 2024. There will then be revaluations every three years to ensure the latest data is being used to calculate bills and provide more certainty to the sector.

In the Autumn 2025 budget the Government lowered the current two multipliers to 43.2 pence and 48p respectively, and introduced two new lower multipliers specifically aimed at retail, hospitality and leisure properties.

· Small business retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with an RV under £51,000 – 38.2p
Standard retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier with an RV between £51,000 and £499,999 – 43p

These replace temporary annual reliefs for businesses like shops, pubs, restaurants and cinemas to provide more long-term certainty. According to the Government about 750,000 retail, leisure and hospitality businesses across the country should receive a tax cut as a result of the changes.

A new higher multiplier aimed at large distribution centres and properties used by online retailers to ensure they contribute more to the system has also been introduced:

Large property (all types) with an RV of £500,000 or above – 50.8p

On top of this, a 1p supplement will be applied to the relevant multiplier for 2026/27 but only to businesses not receiving Transitional Relief or Supporting Small Business Rate Relief. Money raised will support the Government’s Transitional Relief Scheme which attempts to protect businesses from large increases in bills (read on to find out more about business rates reliefs).

According to analysis of the business rate changes from real estate company Savills, the average impact of the changes for this year will be as follows:

Industrial and logistics properties: will see an average increase of 21% in rateable values
Office properties: will see an average rise of 6%
Retail shops: will on average see a small decrease of 0.6%

In theory this is good news for many of our small businesses who may see a smaller rise than others or a slight cut in their bills. However, there is a chance your bill may still rise significantly over the next three years as a result of other factors.

Why could your business rates bill go up significantly over the next three years?

The last revaluation came into effect in 2023 but was based on data from 1 April 2021 when many sectors were still impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time retail, pubs and hospitality businesses generally saw a decrease in rateable values as these sectors were heavily impacted by lockdowns and restrictions. On top of this, temporary Covid-era financial support is also ending from this April.

This means many businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, could now experience large rises in bills as the market readjusts following the pandemic.

Hospitality leaders also say the way rateable values are calculated does not take into account rises in costs in recent years including spikes in energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine and increasing labour costs.

The Government has put in place a transitional relief scheme to cap bills from rising too much, although many business leaders say it’s not enough.

The Government has also announced a package of business rate support specifically for pubs and live music venues that will see:

2026/27 Business Rates bills cut by 15%.
Bills rise only by inflation (the Consumer Price Index) for 2027/28 and 2028/29.

Case studies

These are examples of how some businesses may be affected by the changes. Business Rates vary by individual circumstances though so these should only be treated as a guide only. Please use the Government’s Business Rates valuation checker to find out what you could be paying from 1 April 2026.

Case study 1:

A town centre café in Wychavon has been given a new rateable value of £14,000. This is about £2,500 lower than the businesses 2023 rating meaning the business now meets the criteria for small business rate relief (available to properties with an RV below £15,000).

Their initial bill for 2026/27 is £5,348. They successfully apply for small business rate relief and their bills is lowered to £3,659, compared to £4940.10 in 2025/26, meaning they will pay £1,281.10 less than last year.

Case study 2:

A rural pub in Wychavon, which is part of a large chain, has been given a rateable value of £56,000 which is £500 less than the previous valuation. With

The estimated bill is £21,227.05 with the new 15% discount for pubs applied. This is more than £10,400 less than the £31,635 the pub paid in 2025/26.

Case study 3:

A large distribution centre in Wychavon has been given a rateable value of £1,060,000 – this is £70,000 more than the previous valuation. Their estimated bill is £549,080 which is £32,930 more than the £516,150 they paid last year.

I’m worried about how I will be able to pay my Business Rates bill, what can I do?

If you are worried about the potential impact of these changes on your bill then the first thing to do is get informed.

Visit the Government’s website and type the postcode of your business into their Find a business rates valuation. Once you have your result you can click a link called ‘get an estimate of your bill’ to find out what you may be paying from April 2026. You may be surprised to find you are actually paying less or only slightly more. If you are facing a huge increase then there are other things you can do.

Check how your RV has been calculated

check the factual details the VOA hold about your property
see how your property’s valuation was worked out
let the VOA know if something is wrong with your valuation

You can also use your account to compare your property’s rateable value with similar properties in the area and check how the valuation was calculated.

Raise a check against your current valuation

If you notice any factual errors about your property (e.g., floor area, parking, or usage) you should raise a ‘check’ case against your current 2023 valuation, which can be done within your business rates valuation account. Any factual changes will be made to your current valuation which will then influence your 2026 valuation. You can only do this up to 31 March 2026.

The Government has published guidance on setting up a business rates account online or watch this video: Business Rates Valuation Account registration

Challenge your valuation

You cannot challenge your new valuation until after 1 April 2026. You must complete a check on the property within your business rates valuation account first before you can submit a challenge.

Challenges should be made to the Valuation Office Agency, not Wychavon.

More information on how to challenge your valuation can be found at Challenge the valuation - GOV.UK

Support available

The Government has introduced a £3.2 billion Transitional Relief scheme package to protect businesses from large rises in their bills from 1 April 2026.

You can read the Government’s Business Rates Transitional Relief factsheet to find out more.

This relief will be applied automatically to your bills by our team, so you do not need to apply.

Information about other types of Business Rates relief can also be found on the Government’s website.

Reliefs you may be eligible for include:

We will check your circumstances and apply these reliefs to your bill automatically.

Small business rates relief

Small business rate relief is available if:

your property’s rateable value is less than £15,000
your business only uses one property (you may still be able to get relief if you use more)

If your property has a rateable value of £12,000 or less, and it is the only property you use, then you will not pay business rates.

If your property has a rateable value of £12,001 to £15,000, you will get a discount that reduces gradually from 100% to zero.

When you get a second property, you’ll keep getting any existing relief on your main property for 12 months.

You can still get small business rate relief on your main property after this if both the following apply:

none of your other properties have a rateable value above £2,899
the total rateable value of all your properties is less than £20,000 (£28,000 in London)

Unlike other types of business rates relief, Small business rate relief is not automatically applied to your bills. You will need to apply to us to receive it.

How to apply for Small business rate relief

If your new rateable value from 1 April 2026 is below £15,000, you may now qualify for small business rate relief. However, you do not get this automatically and will need to apply. This means the initial bill you receive from us towards the end of March/early April 2026 may not have the relief applied and may be larger than you expected.

To apply for small business rates relief, you will need to fill in the online form on our website which will be available from 1 April 2026.

We will then check and process your claim, apply the relief and issue you with a new bill.

Other types of Business Rates reliefs are automatically applied to your bills by us as well. You do not need to apply for them. The reliefs applied to your business rates account will be listed on your bill. If you believe you qualify for a relief and it’s not listed then please contact our team.

Any questions?

If you have questions about your current bill or about Business Rates relief then please get in touch with us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 03004 560 560.

If you are struggling to pay your bill then please talk to our team as soon as possible. We have a range of payment options we can look at, as well as check you are receiving all eligible reliefs you are entitled to. The earlier you talk to us the easier it is for us to help so please don’t wait to contact us.