Retail rates about to tumble

Oldham retailers will benefit from a 33 per cent fall in rateable values from 2017, following a Government review, says property firm Colliers International.

Similar falls are forecast for towns such as Ashton and Stockport. Elsewhere in the North West, the fall will be steepest in towns including Rochdale (40 per cent) Southport (41 per cent) and Crewe (38 per cent).

Colliers’ has examined existing and forecasted rateable values in 421 town centres across the country, using official Valuation Office Agency values.

Adam Burke of the firm’s Manchester team said: “North-West retailers are finally seeing relief on the horizon from the values taken on April, 2015, coming into effect on April 1, 2017. The huge swing is due to the Government postponing the revaluation, which was meant to commence this year. So instead of having a five-year cycle we now have a seven-year cycle.

“We actually need shorter revaluation cycles, perhaps three years, to capture rapidly-changing rateable values.”