Since the revaluation of Business Rates in 2017, when the government revalued property for the first time in seven years, there have been winners and losers. Business rates are like council tax for companies. They’re paid regardless of whether the business occupying the space makes any money or not and they’re payable on commercial properties even if there is no sitting tenant.
Business rates are calculated on a property’s ‘rateable value’, which is a property’s estimated value on the open market and not it’s rentable value. There are exceptions and discretionary relief to Business Rates, for example, if you’re a charity or you’re a small business in a property with a rateable value of below £6,000 or up to £12,000.
On average, Business Rates across the UK increased by 3% in line with inflation. The total increase in Business Rates bills in 2018 topped £1.2bn, with retailers facing £301m of that increase. Cardiff’s Business Rates increased on average of 2% in 2017, putting more pressure on the high street and more disparity between physical stores and solely online businesses.
In addition to a business’s costs from rent to running an office, utility bills to paying staff, an increase in Business Rates will undoubtedly make an impact on the costs of running a business.
We recently welcomed back Ladders UK Direct, who had been with us previously at The Business Centre (Cardiff) and had decided to take up their own private leased offices. However, the unexpected increase in Business Rates along with the lack of flexibility meant that they soon found themselves considering serviced offices once more.
We spoke to the team at Ladders Direct UK over a cup of coffee at Mel’s to ask them what had brought them back to The Business Centre and they replied: ‘We loved the business community feeling of The Business Centre and we found that once we left that we really missed that. In addition, the increase in Business Rates in April 2018 meant that there were surprise payments that we weren’t expecting. Plus, there were other things like it was taking up so much of our time to organise the everyday things such as taking out the rubbish and organising utilities that we were losing time to really focus on the business. However, at The Business Centre, we can focus solely on our customers without having to worry about any surprise costs!’
Ladders Direct UK sell a range of high-quality ladders along with workwear direct to customers as well as to trade. We are absolutely delighted to welcome them back to The Business Centre and look forward to seeing them grow!
Serviced offices offer a range of perks, however the most valuable asset that serviced offices can offer a business is time. Moving into a leased office requires taking time to make it feel like a home for your business: installing telephone lines, furnishing and setting up utilities. Whilst with a serviced office, you can sign a contract and hit the ground running.
Here at The Business Centre (Cardiff), we are located just 10 minutes from Cardiff Bay and Penarth. Our modern facility comes fully equipped with a range of amenities including super speedy broadband, breakout areas, a friendly reception team and free access to our modern gym. Plus, the best cafe in Barry, Mel’s Cafe, is onsite! Whether you’re a freelancer looking to hot desk in a creative community or a business with up to 14 employees looking for a new home, our packages can be perfectly tailored to suit your needs. Our business support package takes care of everything so you can focus solely on taking care of your business!