Business rates reductions for commercial property
Hyperion Rating is an independent RICS regulated business rates consultancy helping occupiers and landlords reduce incorrect Rateable Values, challenge Valuation Office Agency assessments and recover overpaid business rates.
Performance based fee. Nothing to pay unless savings are secured.
Why your business rates may be too high
Most commercial property owners and occupiers never check their Rateable Value. The Valuation Office Agency sets Rateable Values for more than two million commercial properties in England and Wales, working from property data, rental evidence and comparable assessments at a fixed valuation date. At that scale, errors are common, and once an incorrect figure is on the rating list it stays there until a ratepayer or their agent challenges it. The system is built on challenge, not on review. There are multiple reasons the amount could be wrong - incorrect floor area measurement, historic layout information, change of use, new comparable evidence or local tone is wrong. When the bill is wrong, the overpayment compounds year after year.
What are business rates
Business rates are a property tax on commercial premises in England and Wales. The bill is calculated by applying the relevant multiplier to the Rateable Value, before reliefs, exemptions and billing adjustments are applied. The Rateable Value is not the rent and it is not the bill. It is the valuation figure behind the bill, and it can be challenged where the evidence supports a lower assessment.
When action can be taken
Rateable Values are reviewed and challenged through the Valuation Office Agency's statutory Check, Challenge and Appeal process. Hyperion Rating has years of specialist experience across all three stages, including Appeals before the relevant Valuation Tribunal. The 2026 Rating List runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029, with a hard deadline of 31 March 2029. Where a successful outcome is achieved, reductions can be backdated to 1 April 2026 where the assessment has been wrong from the start of the list.
Where values go wrong
Rateable Values can be wrong for practical valuation reasons: incorrect floor area, wrong property description, wrong type of space valued, or the assessment sitting above similar properties nearby. Physical issues such as poor accommodation, awkward layouts, mezzanines, basements, ancillary storage and access problems are common causes. Changes to the property or occupation are a separate cause. Refurbishments, splits, mergers, deletions, changes of use, additional space, vacancy, nearby works affecting access to or use of the property, and completion notice disputes all create grounds for action.
How Hyperion finds savings
Savings rarely come from a single point. They come from interrogating every component of the valuation. Hyperion re-measures floor areas where doubt exists, tests comparables and rental evidence against stronger evidence available, challenges the description and use applied, reviews allowances and end adjustments, and checks that reliefs and exemptions have been correctly considered. A reduction often emerges from the cumulative weight of several findings.
Why Hyperion Rating
The rating market includes a wide range of firms, from national consultancies to high volume ‘claims-style’ operators. This is where Hyperion Rating is different. Based in Bristol and acting for clients across England and Wales, we combine RICS regulated advice, direct Chartered Surveyor involvement and specialist rating software with a performance based fee structure. No corporate layers, no claims-company scripts, no case handed to a junior.
Hyperion Rating advises on offices, industrial and warehouse premises, retail units, healthcare sites and mixed-use developments, across both the 2023 and 2026 Rating Lists. Instructions come both directly from clients and through trusted partners across property funds and other commercial property firms.
RICS regulated advice
Hyperion Rating is an independent RICS regulated business rates consultancy. That means professional standards, clear accountability and evidence-led advice from the outset.
Business rates appeals should be supported by proper valuation evidence, not speculative claims or generic submissions. Every recommendation is made on the strength of the case, not simply to start a process.
Chartered Surveyor-led
Every case is reviewed directly by a Chartered Surveyor with specialist business rates experience. Your property is not passed through a call centre, handed to a junior team member or treated as a low-priority file.
Hyperion Rating gives each instruction proper valuation attention, whether it concerns a single property, a larger commercial assessment or a wider portfolio. The advice is based on evidence, surveying judgement and a clear understanding of how the Valuation Office Agency approaches business rates assessments.
Evidence, software and market intelligence
Strong reductions come from strong evidence. Hyperion uses specialist rating software, VOA records, property datasets, mapping tools, comparable assessment analysis, rental evidence and local market intelligence to identify where assessments are out of line. This is supported by a wider commercial property network, including lease advisory and valuation contacts.
Performance based fee
No upfront fees. No retainers. No fixed review costs. No hidden costs. Many business rates companies charge before a saving is secured or make the fee position unclear from the outset. Hyperion Rating does not. Our fee is performance based and charged only as a percentage of savings achieved, so if no Rateable Value reduction, refund or business rates saving is secured, there is nothing to pay.
Our approach
Initial review
We begin with a no-obligation assessment of your property or portfolio. Using market data and valuation tools, we identify whether you're potentially overpaying on your business rates. This includes an initial review of the property's rent, details, location, and the surrounding market context.
2.Detailed investigation
If savings appear likely, we carry out a detailed investigation. This may require a physical inspection of your property to check floor areas, layout and any inaccuracies in the assessment. We use specialist rating software, property data and comparable evidence tools to analyse rental evidence, review the valuation approach applied by the Valuation Office Agency, and consider surrounding factors and local influences. Where relevant, we assess economic conditions at the valuation date to identify angles for a justified reduction.
3. Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) process
If the evidence supports a reduction, we prepare the valuation case and manage the Check, Challenge and Appeal process with the Valuation Office Agency from start to finish. This includes submissions, correspondence and negotiation, with the evidence presented clearly to support a reduced assessment.
4. Savings delivered
If a reduction is achieved, you'll receive a lower liability of business rates payable, and eligible backdated overpayments refunded. Our fee is success-based, so you only pay a percentage of the results we deliver.
Request a free review
Send your property details and a Chartered Surveyor will review your current Rateable Value at no cost.
What happens next
A Chartered Surveyor reviews your property details, current Rateable Value and any supporting information you provide.
You receive clear advice on whether there is a credible case for reduction, what evidence supports it and what the next step would be.
If required, an inspection, measurement check or further evidence request will be arranged and carried out as part of the review process.
If you decide to proceed, clear Terms of Engagement are issued before any formal work begins. Hyperion Rating then manages the Check, Challenge and Appeal process with the Valuation Office Agency on a performance based fee.
Nothing is payable unless savings are secured.