Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Relief
The Chancellor announced the extension of the business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
The 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief 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. The discount is applied after mandatory and other discretionary reliefs.
The Council has identified those hereditaments that qualify for the discount and it has been automatically awarded on the accounts. If applicable, the discount is shown on the front of your most recent business rates bill.
Properties entitled to Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme
You are entitled to the relief provided that your property is occupied. Your property must be wholly or mainly occupied as premises which fall into one of the categories listed below:
- Shops (such as: florists, bakers, butchers, grocers, greengrocers, jewellers, stationers, off licences, chemists, newsagents, hardware stores, supermarkets, etc)
- Charity shops
- Opticians
- Post offices
- Furnishing shops/display rooms (such as: carpet shops, double glazing, garage doors)
- Car/ caravan show rooms
- Second hand car lots
- Markets
- Petrol stations
- Garden centres
- Art galleries (where art is for sale/hire)
- Live music venues
- Sports grounds and clubs
- Theatres
- Tourist attractions
- Gyms
- Public halls
- Clubhouses, clubs and institutions
- Hotels, guest and boarding houses
- Caravan parks and sites
- Casinos, gambling clubs and bingo halls
- Hair and beauty services (such as: hair dressers, nail bars, beauty salons, tanning shops etc
- Shoe repairs/ key cutting
- Travel agents
- Ticket offices e.g. for theatre
- Dry cleaners
- Launderettes
- PC/ TV/ domestic appliance repair
- Funeral directors
- Photo processing
- Tool hire
- Car hire
- Restaurants
- Takeaways
- Sandwich shops
- Coffee shops
- Pubs and Bars
- Cinemas
- Museums and art galleries
- Nightclubs
- Sport and leisure facilities
- Stately homes and historic houses
- Holiday homes
- Wellness centres, spas, massage parlours
Properties NOT entitled to Expanded Retail Discount
The following uses of property are not eligible for the discount:
- Financial services (e.g. banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term loan providers, betting shops)
- Medical services (e.g. vets, dentists, doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors)
- Professional Services (e.g. solicitors, accountants, insurance agents/financial advisers, employment agencies, estate agents, letting agents)
- Post office sorting office
Also, not eligible for the discount, are properties which are not reasonably accessible to the public.
Cash Cap
Under the cash cap, no ratepayer can in any circumstances exceed the £110,000 cash cap across all of their hereditaments in England. Where a ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer then those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps.
Furthermore, the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Scheme is likely to amount to subsidy. Any relief provided by local authorities under this scheme will need to comply with the UK’s domestic and international subsidy control obligations (See the BEIS guidance for public authorities which explains the subsidies chapter of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), World Trade Organisation rules on subsidies, and other international subsidy control commitments).
If you (or a company in your Group) have received Expanded Retail Discount on any other property which together exceeds the cap, you must let us know immediately.
If you feel that you are eligible for this discount and it is not shown on your bill, then please contact us at businessrates@winchester.gov.uk