Win, lose, or draw? Avison Young assesses the impact of the 2021 rating revaluation in Wales

Andrew Wellens, director at Avison Young

Avison Young’s new report ‘Win, lose, or draw’ takes a look at how different sectors and regions across the UK will be affected by the 2021 rating revaluation.

Andrew Wellens, director at Avison Young explains how Wales is likely to be affected.

Wales is expected to see its rateable value pool (the total rateable value of all properties) grow 3.5% to £2.65 billion following the revaluation. However this should result in the Uniform Business Rate (UBR) falling to around 52.4p at the start of the new rating list.

As a result, Avison Young is predicting a 0.7% increase in the overall rate liability with the total rate liability in Wales increasing to £1,278m in 2021/22. Despite the relatively modest increase in the overall liability there will be some large swings.

It is the retail sector likely to see the biggest reductions in rate liability, with reductions in this sector across Wales averaging 13.3%.

Andrew says, “Changing consumer habits and the increase in online retail have been major contributory factors to the decline in traditional retail on the high street, which is why some areas will see their rateable values fall and Wales is no exception.

“Retail occupiers across Wales are expected to benefit from an overall reduction in their rates bills of around £52million in the first year following the 2021 revaluation.

While this could be good news for the high street, the strong growth in logistics and distribution warehousing in Wales is predicted to see the industrial sector experience an average of 9.6% increase in its rate liability to £346.7million, the biggest regional rise.

Equally strong is the Cardiff offices market, where we expect to see increases in rate liability exceeding 25% following the 2021 revaluation.