The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that in the last 25 years, the cost of stamp duty has increased by 490% for the average homebuyer. Now that the stamp duty holiday is done and dusted, the average homebuyer in England
Hundreds of thousands of businesses promised business rates reliefs through the £1.5 billion Government Business Rates Relief Fund have still not received a penny, despite promises made by the Government last Spring. In March, the Government took the unprecedented step of announcing it would legislate that Material Change of Circumstance
Commercial property estate agency Ernest Wilson has sold Bradford timber merchants Baildon Timber to the Myers Group, a Huddersfield-based building supplies business, for £1 million. The Myers Group, which has been owned and run by the same family for four generations and employs 350 people across West Yorkshire, now plans
Many homes within the UK need major structural work carried out on them to make them safe. In a lot of cases, it is actually far better to knock the house down and start again. Not only can the home then benefit from a more modern design structure, but it
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, explains why UK house price growth could remain buoyant until at least summer 2022. House prices have reached phenomenal highs since the start of the pandemic, a shortage of supply and ever-increasing demand means homes are selling for handsome sums and
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, reveals the most expensive areas to buy a home across 18 major cities in England, and how much more they will cost you compared to the city wide average. House prices have been hitting historic highs across England, soaring by more
As the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund opens to applications, Kensa Contracting is urging local authorities and housing associations in England to act now and bid for a portion of the £160 million available in 2021/22 to install highly efficient low carbon ground source heat pumps to tackle climate change and
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, reveals how many hometown properties some of the best-paid English Premier League footballers could afford to buy with their annual salary. It is no secret that Premiership footballers are extremely well remunerated for their work and talent and, as we’ve seen
Leading Ratings Agent Fears Businesses’ Ability to Appeal Higher and Higher Rate Bills will be curtailed if government proposals come into force… The government’s latest proposals on business rates (Government Consultation Paper on More Frequent Revaluations)* will create more difficulties for businesses appealing their business rates than benefits, according to
The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has taken a look at both the residential and commercial property markets and how both are currently performing for those considering an investment but unsure which path to take. The analysis shows that when it comes
The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that in the last 25 years, the cost of stamp duty has increased by 490% for the average homebuyer. Now that the stamp duty holiday is done and dusted, the average homebuyer in England will once again pay the government for the pleasure of purchasing their own home, a bill of £3,548 on the current average house price to be exact. Thanks to a house price boom spurred by the stamp duty holiday itself, that’s a tax bill some 44% higher than the average stamp duty paid prior to its introduction. In fact, in the last 25 years, the cost of stamp duty has never been higher, despite the effective rate being paid falling below one percent when the old ‘slab’ structure was abolished in December 2014 and replaced by the new ‘slice’ system. When removing both unique instances of the recent SDLT holiday and the reprieve granted in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis, the average cost of stamp duty has increased by an average of 8.4% every year since 1997. In fact, other than the two occasions where stamp duty was paused and reduced, the tax bill paid by homebuyers has only seen a year on year decline on four other occasions. The first three of these came prior to, and following, the initial stamp duty break in 2009 as house prices continued to decline following the financial crisis. The other materialised in 2015 following the switch from a ‘slab structure’ to a ‘slice’ structure whereby a property paid a percentage of stamp duty at each value threshold, rather than a full percentage based on the single threshold at which is sat. The cost of £3,548 now faced by the average homebuyer is also a whopping 490% more than the £601 paid back in 1997. Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “With the latest generation of homebuyers enjoying a taste of stamp duty free property purchases there are renewed calls for its complete abolition but, as always, these will continue to go unheard. Over the last 25 years, the government has become very good at fuelling buyer demand while failing to address the housing crisis and building more homes. This has worked very nicely for them where an increased cost in stamp duty is concerned and their free slice of the pie, cut from the savings of struggling homebuyers, has continued to climb with absolutely no justification whatsoever.” Table shows how the rate of stamp duty paid by homebuyers in England has changed over the last 25 years Year SDLT type AveHP – England (July) SDLT cost SDLT effective rate SDLT cost change 1997 Slab Structure £60,089 £601 1% N/A 1998 Slab Structure £65,475 £655 1% 9.0% 1999 Slab Structure £70,612 £706 1% 7.8% 2000 Slab Structure £82,563 £826 1% 16.9% 2001 Slab Structure £91,430 £914 1% 10.7% 2002 Slab Structure £110,001 £1,100 1% 20.3% 2003 Slab Structure £132,318 £1,323 1% 20.3% 2004 Slab Structure £156,730 £1,567 1% 18.4% 2005 Slab Structure £165,756 £1,658 1% 5.8% 2006 Slab Structure £176,164 £1,762 1% 6.3% 2007 Slab Structure £193,360 £1,934 1% 9.8% 2008 Slab Structure £185,844 £1,858 1% -3.9% 2009 Stamp Duty Holiday £167,673 £0 0% N/A 2010 Slab Structure £180,519 £1,805 1% -2.87% 2011 Slab Structure £177,164 £1,772 1% -1.9% 2012 Slab Structure £179,756 £1,798 1% 1.5% 2013 Slab Structure £184,274 £1,843 1% 2.5% 2014 Slab Structure £200,825 £2,008 1% 9.0% 2015 Slice Structure £213,518 £1,770 0.83% -11.8% 2016 Slice Structure £230,868 £2,117 0.92% 19.6% 2017 Slice Structure £241,406 £2,328 0.96% 10.0% 2018 Slice Structure £247,981 £2,460 0.99% 5.6% 2019 Slice Structure £248,468 £2,469 0.99% 0.4% 2020 Initial Stamp Duty Holiday £253,226 £0 0% N/A 2021 Reduced Stamp Duty Holiday Threshold £270,973 £1,048 0.39% N/A 2021 Slice Structure £270,973 £3,548 1.31% 43.7% Median Rate of Annual Stamp Duty Tax Growth – 1997 to 2021 8.40% House price data sourced from the Gov.uk UK House Price Index based on a July annual change as the latest month available Historic stamp duty rates sourced from stampdutyrates.co.uk and applied to the respective average house price in each year
Hundreds of thousands of businesses promised business rates reliefs through the £1.5 billion Government Business Rates Relief Fund have still not received a penny, despite promises made by the Government last Spring. In March, the Government took the unprecedented step of announcing it would legislate that Material Change of Circumstance (MCC) business rates appeals for businesses impacted by Covid-19 would not be valid for the appeals system – a move that was lambasted by the rating profession at the time and put paid to the hopes of hundred of thousands of businesses who had started the appeals process against their rates bills, on the grounds of the impact the pandemic had had on their businesses. * As a sweetener the Government announced a £1.5 billion New Business Rates Relief fund for businesses affected by COVID-19, outside the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, which would be distributed by Local Authorities. The relief fund would “get cash to affected businesses in the most proportionate and equitable way.” The Government also said, “We’ll work with and support local government to enable ratepayers to apply as soon as possible this year, once the legislation relating to MCC provisions has passed and local authorities have set up local relief schemes.” All well and good- except the legislation relating to MCC provisions has still not passed through Parliament and become law- six months on – and there are no signs it will be passed in the immediate future. Not only that but as John Webber, Head of Business Rates at Colliers points out, “As far as we are aware neither the government nor the billing authorities have engaged with the rating industry or set out any guidance for businesses to apply to receive this relief fund. We are still very much in the dark.” There are also rumours that the government will leave it to each billing authority to draw up its own guidance – a situation Webber describes as “carnage.” “Giving the local authorities the ability to decide who will be eligible for the reliefs is just not prescriptive enough and we know from past experiences that authorities all have different interpretations of the regulations. We’ll have 300 odd policies and whether businesses receive relief or not will be a total ”postcode lottery.” Webber points out that by the time the billing authorities get their plans together it will be between 18 months and two years since Covid set in and the first Lockdown began and the Government told office workers to work from home. That’s nearly two years for businesses who’ve been adversely impacted by Covid-19 to miss out on the support they need. “One wonders what state they’ll be in by the time the reliefs are actually paid out.” “As we said at the time when the government announced this retrospective move to deny MCC appeals, £1.5 billion will not even scratch the surface for businesses struggling to pay their rates bills from last two year- over 400,000 of whom had started the appeals process in what was “the largest MCC caused by a single event in rating history”. “But to not even get the scheme started yet is a disgrace and affront to businesses.” Please Note *between April 1sts 2020, just after the start of the first Lockdown, and end March 2021, 409,430 checks (the first stage of the appeals process) were registered by businesses, most of whom had been impacted by Covid-19. This dwarfs the 158,910 number of checks registered in the previous three years (April 2017 to March 2020) and shows the total disruption to hundreds and thousands of businesses caused by the pandemic and lockdowns.
Commercial property estate agency Ernest Wilson has sold Bradford timber merchants Baildon Timber to the Myers Group, a Huddersfield-based building supplies business, for £1 million. The Myers Group, which has been owned and run by the same family for four generations and employs 350 people across West Yorkshire, now plans a £500,000 investment in the business in order expand the stock range and carry out a full refurbishment of the site and buildings. “Baildon Timber is the perfect fit for us and there are clear synergies between our two family businesses, particularly as we both serve a customer base that is largely made up of small construction companies. The acquisition meets our aspirations for growth in the timber sector, as well as expanding our geographic footprint into the Baildon and east Bradford area of Yorkshire,” said James Berry, managing director of the Myers group. The Myers Group, whose range of building supplies services to housebuilders and renovators spans skip hire, ready mix concrete and aggregates, as well as kitchens and bathrooms, plans to create three new jobs immediately at Baildon Timber, with further hires scheduled for the coming months. “We pride ourselves on being a growing, progressive business and we’re really pleased to be able to invest in Baildon Timber to make it a bigger and better business. As well as a total refurbishment, we are creating a new, larger shop and trade counter and diversifying the product range to include other building supplies as well as timber,” said James. “Myers Group’s acquisition of Baildon Timber is a really good example of how the sale of a small business has triggered new investment and growth. Demand for small businesses like Baildon Timber is currently outstripping demand so the current market really is an ideal one for any business owner looking to exit the business,” added Michael Peel, Ernest Wilson sales manager. Acquired by property consultant Eddisons in 2019, Leeds-based Ernest Wilson was founded in 1956 and specialises in buying and selling hundreds of small businesses every year, from fish and chip shops to convenience stores and hotels. It has sold businesses worth more than £36 million of since the start of the pandemic.
Many homes within the UK need major structural work carried out on them to make them safe. In a lot of cases, it is actually far better to knock the house down and start again. Not only can the home then benefit from a more modern design structure, but it will be safe far longer into the future. This is clearly a huge potential revenue stream for construction companies. As well as rebuilding homes for people, in fact, many of these homeowners may be far interested in selling the house as it is to construction firms or any other potential property cash buyers and going elsewhere. This can save them a lot of stress. There is scope here for developers to make a lot of money if they get in on the act. Rebuilding Homes A construction company that takes on the job of rebuilding someone’s home will have many things to consider. First, the home has to be rebuilt according to the specification of the homeowner. This can be both a blessing and a curse, as it limits the construction companies ability to create the ideal home as they see fit. But, you will be able to create something that the homeowner loves. Having happy customers is essential in this day and age, as this will mean that you will be provided with excellent feedback and your customer experience rating will go up, causing you to be more competitive. The average income you would receive for a complete rebuild project for the average three-bedroomed house is about £198,000. This is clearly dependant on many factors, including the location of the site. However, if done correctly, rebuilding projects could be a vital part of any construction firm’s revenue stream. Redevelopment of the Site If you purchase the old home, you can clearly make more profit as you could build four flats on the site as opposed to one construction project. You will not be limited to the specification of the homeowner either. In addition, a project like this can help solve the housing crisis which is blighting the country. New houses are desperately needed, and demolition and reconstruction jobs are vital in the battle against this crisis. Brownfield Redevelopment There is huge scope for construction companies to develop on brownfield sites across the UK. In some places, development has begun in earnest on these sites, and in many ways, it is a far superior option to building on the green belt. First of all, you won’t have any green activists fighting against you every step of the way, as who could really argue with a company cleaning previously developed land and making use of it again? Obviously, these projects will be full of their own issues, ensuring that the land is free from toxins being one of them. But these developments again can prove profitable if done correctly and with the right planning. With the rising cost of housing, perhaps this option needs to be reconsidered by construction companies if they had previously ruled it out.
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, explains why UK house price growth could remain buoyant until at least summer 2022. House prices have reached phenomenal highs since the start of the pandemic, a shortage of supply and ever-increasing demand means homes are selling for handsome sums and at breakneck speed. It has left many industry experts and commentators asking when prices will start to fall again, having already defied expectations by climbing even after the end of the initial stamp duty holiday. Keller Williams has analysed how the four seasons impact house prices and market demand over the past 36 months, a project that reveals prices are very unlikely to drop until at least June 2022. This is because, by splitting the calendar year into seasons, it is clear that the UK housing market follows a predictable cycle. The average house price in autumn – September, October, November – over the past three years has sat at £240,000. Always a busy time of year, this goes a long way to explain why prices and demand are still so high today. As the year moves into winter – December, January, February – the average house price climbs even further. Over the past 36 months, the average house price in winter has been £243,998. Moving into Spring – March, April, May – prices rise again to an average of £245,000. It is only with the arrival of summer that prices start to decline. Over the past three years, the average house price in the summer season has sat at £237,980, the lowest price for the whole year. So the data suggests that having already seen a summer of hot house price growth, we should now see property values continue on their upward trend until summer 2022, at the very least. CEO of Keller Williams UK, Ben Taylor, commented: “The stamp duty holiday has spurred an incredible run of upward house price growth and despite many predicting a market slump, we’re yet to see any let up. Season trends suggest this could be the case for the rest of this year and much of next as the market tends to perform at its best during the autumn, winter and spring seasons. “For buyers, this is difficult news to stomach, especially those who are hoping to move sooner rather than later. But it will no doubt be welcomed by sellers who should continue to secure a very good price when entering the market.” Table shows seasonal average house prices and transactions from the past 36 months (June 2018 – May 2021) Season Average transactions Average (median) price Summer 232,302 £237,980 Autumn 246,694 £240,000 Winter 217,232 £243,998 Spring 160,287 £245,000 Source HMLR – Price Paid
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, reveals the most expensive areas to buy a home across 18 major cities in England, and how much more they will cost you compared to the city wide average. House prices have been hitting historic highs across England, soaring by more than 13% in the last year alone. The nation’s cities, however, have not experienced the same price boom that rural, regional areas of the country have and many cities now have average house prices well below the national average. But all housing markets, urban or rural, have their expensive areas and Keller Williams has identified precisely where they are, thus showing exactly how much money homeowners will need to spend in order to live at the very top of their local market. For buyers, London is the most expensive city in England. The average house price is currently £510,299, a sum that dwarfs the national average and yet pales in comparison to the capital’s most expensive neighbourhoods. And none are more expensive than Knightsbridge and Belgravia where the average house price is a shade below £3 million: almost £2.5 million, or 478%, more than the London average. In Birmingham, the average house price is £208,241. The city’s most expensive ward is Sutton Four Oaks, located to the north-east of the city centre, where the average house price is £520,000. This makes Sutton Four Oaks 150% more expensive than the Birmingham average, a gulf that ranks second only to London. There is a 148% difference between Bradford’s average house price and that of its most expensive ward. The city average is £149,798, but in Ilkley, which is around 10 miles from the city centre, the average price is £372,500; a difference of £222,702. Oxford has a high average house price, but £451,385 is still less than half of what it costs to live in its most expensive ward: North Oxford. The North of the city has an average house price of £543,615, 120% north of the city average. In Newcastle, the average price is £172,770. In its most expensive ward, Gosforth, the average is 120% higher at £380,000. There is 111% difference between Bournemouth and its most expensive ward, Canford Cliffs: 105% between Sheffield and Dore and Totley: 95% between Cambridge and Newnham: 86% between Bristol and Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze: 81% between Leeds and Harewood: 74% between Manchester and Chorlton: 72% between Nottingham and Wollaton West: 61% between Liverpool and Mossley Hill: 49% between Southampton and Shirley: 48% between Sunderland and Washington East: 45% between Portsmouth and Drayton and Farlington:33% between Leicester and Knighton: and 28% between Plymouth and Plymstock Dunstone. CEO of Keller Williams UK, Ben Taylor, commented: “The housing market has taken off and demand is pushing prices through the roof. Industry commentators keep predicting a sudden drop as demand lightens or at least evens out, but the truth is this is unlikely. The market will be as lively in a year’s time as it is now. But even if prices do drop slightly, these pinnacles of the UK property market will continue to command the highest house prices in their respective cities. The reason many of these wards are so expensive is that they offer rarified properties – large, spacious houses with good gardens; or tranquil, luxurious corners of otherwise frantic metropolitan areas. There will always be demand for these types of homes, as well as buyers with money to buy them. Especially when you factor in the foreign investor interest that our cities attract. If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford a step up into one of these wards, you can be sure that your financial stake will be well protected.” Table shows averate house price of English cities compared to that in their most expensive wards, ordered from largest price difference to smallest. City Average city house price Most expensive ward Average ward house price Difference £ – ward vs wider city average Difference % – ward vs wider city average London £510,299 Knightsbridge and Belgravia £2,950,000 £2,439,701 478.1% Birmingham £208,241 Sutton Four Oaks £520,000 £311,759 149.7% Bradford £149,798 Ilkley £372,500 £222,702 148.7% Oxford £451,385 North £995,000 £543,615 120.4% Newcastle £172,770 Gosforth £380,000 £207,230 119.9% Bournemouth £308,071 Canford Cliffs £650,000 £341,929 111.0% Sheffield £186,980 Dore and Totley £382,750 £195,770 104.7% Cambridge £473,534 Newnham £925,000 £451,466 95.3% Bristol £307,765 Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze £571,250 £263,485 85.6% Leeds £212,943 Harewood £384,950 £172,007 80.8% Manchester £206,574 Chorlton £359,000 £152,426 73.8% Nottingham £166,153 Wollaton West £286,000 £119,847 72.1% Liverpool £163,580 Mossley Hill £262,750 £99,170 60.6% Southampton £218,192 Shirley £325,000 £106,808 49.0% Sunderland £133,359 Washington East £196,998 £63,638 47.7% Portsmouth £230,419 Drayton and Farlington £335,000 £104,581 45.4% Leicester £206,297 Knighton £275,000 £68,703 33.3% Plymouth £194,085 Plymstock Dunstone £249,000 £54,915 28.3% Sources UK House Price Index (HPI) ONS – Median house price by ward
As the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund opens to applications, Kensa Contracting is urging local authorities and housing associations in England to act now and bid for a portion of the £160 million available in 2021/22 to install highly efficient low carbon ground source heat pumps to tackle climate change and protect their tenants from fuel poverty. There is an 8-week application window for the first wave of the Social Housing Fund funding bids, beginning on 23rd August and ending on 15th October. To help capitalise on this opportunity, Kensa Contracting will be delivering free CPD sessions showcasing the benefits of ground source heat pumps in social housing with large-scale retrofit case studies and demonstrating how the technology is eligible under the scheme. Kensa can also support local authorities in making a bid by delivering desktop feasibility studies of building stock to help identify ‘retrofit-ready’ projects, and providing estimates for the investment budgets and potential grant amounts needed for installing ground source heating systems. The UK government has committed to reducing emissions to net-zero by 2050, and over 10 years, the Social Housing Fund will potentially provide up to £3.8 billion in subsequent funding waves to encourage local authorities in England to retrofit measures such as low-carbon heating and insulation to increase energy efficiency and decarbonise their housing stock. The primary objective of the Social Housing Fund scheme is to upgrade a significant amount of England’s 4.1m social homes to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by 2030. Currently, nearly 40% of properties fall below this, with fuel poverty posing a serious risk for residents when high fuel bills mean tough choices between heating or eating. Under the scheme’s guidelines, low carbon heating, including ground source heat pumps, can be installed where a ‘fabric first approach is taken’. Electrically-powered ground source heat pumps are sustainable, non-combustion devices generating no point of use emissions or pollution, and have been highlighted by government as a key part of the UK’s strategy to decarbonise heat, of which 37% of total UK carbon emissions are attributed to. Using freely available heat energy from the ground, a ground source heat pump can deliver 3 to 4 kilowatts (kW) of heat for every 1kW of electricity it consumes, making it highly efficient. While modern condensing boilers can be up to 90% efficient, a ground source heat pump can achieve efficiencies of 400%, without the carbon emissions or air pollution created by burning fossil fuels. The government’s 10-point-plan to put the UK back on track to meet its net-zero carbon target by 2050, states the aim to have 600,000 heat pump installations every year by 2028, and the Committee for Climate Change (CCC) has suggested this figure should even be increased to 900,000. This will require a massive scaling up of ground source heat pump installations, and Kensa believes that a Shared Ground Loop Array infrastructure is the key to achieving this.
Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, reveals how many hometown properties some of the best-paid English Premier League footballers could afford to buy with their annual salary. It is no secret that Premiership footballers are extremely well remunerated for their work and talent and, as we’ve seen this summer with big transfers for the likes of Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish, when players hit peak form, clubs will pay extraordinary sums to get them on the books. But what does a young man do with such vast amounts of money? The answer for many is property investment, often seen as an easy and reliable way of creating a legacy income for themselves once their playing days are over. Where better than their hometowns so they can combine visiting their family with managing their potential future buy-to-let portfolio. With this in mind, Keller Williams has analysed the salaries of English players and compared them to the average house price in their respective hometowns to work out exactly how many property investments each player could make in a single year. At the very top of this list, the player who can afford to buy the most hometown homes, is England’s sweetheart, Jack Grealish. Following a bumper transfer to Manchester City, Grealish now earns a base annual salary of £15.6 million. He was born in Birmingham where the average house price is currently £205,615. This means that Grealish could buy 76 hometown houses with his annual pay packet, more than any other player on the list by quite a distance. Second is Jordan Henderson, Liverpool’s no-nonsense captain who earns £7.3 million each year. He was born in Sunderland where the average home cost £127,857 which means Henderson could buy 57 properties with a single year’s salary. Marcus Rashford is third on the list. Widely praised for his vital work off the pitch, Rashford is also a handsomely paid athlete with an annual salary from Manchester United of £10.4 million. Born and raised in Manchester where the average house price is £196,333, he could buy 53 hometown homes each year. Next is another Manchester United player, Harry Maguire, who earns £8.5 million a year. He was born in Sheffield where the average house price is currently £184,701. This means Maguire could buy 46 hometown homes every year. And then there’s Jordan Pickford, England’s animated man between the sticks. He plays for Everton where he is currently paid £5.2 million. Like Jordan Henderson, Pickford is from Sunderland where the average house price is £127,857. This means he could buy 41 hometown homes with a single year’s earnings. An interesting point of note is Harry Kane. The England and Tottenham Hotspur captain is one of the most high-profile and successful goal scorers in world football, currently earning £10.4 million a year. Despite this, Kane is placed towards the very bottom of the list, below many players who earn half of his salary. This is because Kane was born in Waltham Forest, an expensive borough in North East London where the average house price is £487,133. This means he could buy just 21 hometown homes with a year’s earnings, less than a third of Jack Grealish. Still, not too shabby for a potential property portfolio. Table shows how many homes each player could purchase in their home town at the current average house price Player Team Annual salary Hometown AveHP – May 2021 Number of ave homes per year Jack Grealish MCFC £15,600,000 Birmingham £205,615 76 Jordan Henderson LFC £7,280,000 Sunderland £127,857 57 Marcus Rashford MUFC £10,400,000 Manchester £196,333 53 Harry Maguire MUFC £8,464,300 Sheffield £184,701 46 Jordan Pickford EFC £5,208,320 Sunderland £127,857 41 Jamie Vardy LC £7,280,000 Sheffield £184,701 39 John Stones MCFC £5,200,000 Barnsley £140,058 37 Ben Chilwell CFC £9,880,000 Milton Keynes £281,140 35 Dean Henderson MUFC £5,200,000 Copeland £149,395 35 James Milner LFC £7,280,000 Leeds £210,358 35 Jadon Sancho MUFC £18,200,000 Southwark £528,767 34 Kyle Walker MCFC £5,720,000 Sheffield £184,701 31 Raheem Sterling MCFC £15,600,000 Brent £508,571 31 James Maddison LC £5,720,000 Coventry £201,331 28 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain LFC £6,240,000 Portsmouth £222,279 28 Danny Drinkwater CFC £5,200,000 Manchester £196,333 26 Harry Kane THFC £10,400,000 Waltham Forest £487,133 21 Ben White AFC £6,240,000 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole £299,301 21 Luke Shaw MUFC £6,240,000 Kingston upon Thames £507,702 12 Callum Hudson-Odoi CFC £6,240,000 Wandsworth £625,412 10 Sources Spotrac – EPL Salary Rankings Gov.uk – UK House Price Index (May 2021 – latest available data) Wage / Average House Price
Leading Ratings Agent Fears Businesses’ Ability to Appeal Higher and Higher Rate Bills will be curtailed if government proposals come into force… The government’s latest proposals on business rates (Government Consultation Paper on More Frequent Revaluations)* will create more difficulties for businesses appealing their business rates than benefits, according to rating experts at Colliers, the international property consultancy. Colliers is responding to the government consultation, launched at the end of June which requires responses by August 24th 2021, in which the government stated its belief that three yearly Revaluations (Revals) will provide more accurate valuations and greater transparency about the make-up of valuations, enabling business rates liabilities to more closely reflect current rents and economic conditions. While Colliers supports the move to three-yearly valuations, (although would prefer annual revaluations) but is concerned that the government is not prioritising increasing the resources at the VOA to achieve this aim- resulting in a system- according to Colliers which will inevitably put even more burden on ratepaying businesses. The consultation paper is asking for responses and comments on the following matters: Duty to notify the VOA of changes to the occupier and property characteristics, information which would be shared with the billing authorities. This is expected to include extensions, alterations or demolition, conversions, splits and mergers and change of use. Mandatory provision of rent and lease information as well as trade and cost information used for valuations. This would be on an annual basis, aligned with business rates billing, using an online portal and would need to include any side agreements. There is also a requirement to provide lease information following an “event” such a lease renewal or rent review. Provision of this information is mandatory for submission of an appeal against a Rateable Value and there would be penalty fines for providing late or incorrect information. The government is also proposing changes to the current appeals system: The Check stage would be removed (most likely for the 2026 Revaluation) on the basis that this would be covered by the Duty to Notify. There may be a fee for submitting a Challenge, in addition to the current fee for submitting an Appeal. This is expected to be refundable if the Challenge is successful. The draft list is unlikely to be issued prior to 1st January before the Revaluation, and all Challenges against the new list values would need to be submitted within three months of the start of the list. A new occupier would be able to submit a Challenge within three months of the start date of their interest in the property. The VOA would have a statutory duty to complete all list appeals by the end of the list i.e. within two years and nine months (the current Check and Challenge process alone can take up to two years and six months). Landlords could not submit an appeal where they are not the rateable occupier. The ratepayer can apply for a fuller analysis of rental evidence used, but this must be prior to the Challenge being submitted i.e. within the three months. This may also be subject to a fee. According to John Webber, Head of Business Rates at Colliers, the proposals would result in a much more onerous and expensive way for businesses to appeal their business rates. In its response to the consultation, Colliers has highlighted the following flaws in the proposed system: Duty to Notify. This is a significant burden on ratepayers as it will now involve an annual confirmation return. This is effectively an annual check by ratepayers – even those who may benefit from reliefs and don’t pay business rates- 600,000 businesses currently- increasing the paperwork and administration burden. Mandatory Provision of Lease Information. Again, an annual return to include side letters and arrangements agreed with landlords. This is required by the VOA even though they already have access to this through land registry and other sources. There may also be multiple rental returns required for each ratepayer based on frequent events being concluded throughout the year. Restrictions on Appeal timescales. The government has already announced that the draft list will be published 3 months before it becomes live and not the usual 6 months. This proposal then suggests a 3-month window to appeal. This leaves little time to review valuations and submit Challenges upon receipt of the draft list values. Fees for a Challenge with refunds upon success. This could cause cash flow issues and will reduce access to justice. (Currently there are no fees payable until the final stage of CCA). Although the 3 yearly cycle is a positive move, compared to what we have now (where rateable values are still based on rents in 2015), the VOA has maintained that it needs a 2-year gap between the Antecedent Valuation date (AVD), when values are assessed and when the list becomes live. Colliers believes the gap should be shortened to 12 months to give a truer reflection of the market. Landlords restricted from submitting challenges Although not of major concern to many, a lot of landlords take a proactive approach to the rates liability of their tenants. To remove their involvement in the process seems unnecessary as well as undemocratic. The death of MCC’s. Set against the background of the government legislating to outlaw Covid MCC appeals perhaps it is not surprising that they are suggesting the removal of the ability to appeal on any MCC grounds. While this could be possible in an annual revaluation cycle, to remove it in a 3-yearly cycle is again undemocratic and unjustified. Transparency – only proposed in stages – this is not fair to ratepayers and means the VOA will not be transparent until later lists. Backlog – the huge backlog of 2017 appeals mean that it is unlikely that these will be cleared prior to the new list and new process being put in place. Colliers are concerned that 2017 appeal rights could be cut off. Timescale Based on experience, Colliers also think that it
The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has taken a look at both the residential and commercial property markets and how both are currently performing for those considering an investment but unsure which path to take. The analysis shows that when it comes to the initial cost of investing, the average residential property requires a budget of £259,850. However, with an average value of £454,384, a commercial investment will require a budget some 75% larger on average. Where stock availability is concerned, the residential market also offers up far greater choice with 541,966 listings versus just 12,022 across the commercial space. The value of the market is also more substantial, worth an estimated £251.5bn while the commercial market comes in at almost £9bn in value. London and the South East rank top for resi stock availability, accounting for 19% of all listings, with the East of England (12%) also seeing a large number. Those eyeing a commercial investment are better placed investing in the South West and North West, accounting for 12.9% and 12% of all commercial stock respectively. London ranks third with 11% of all commercial properties in the capital. While the commercial sector may be smaller in both volume of stock and values it could prove the better option for the individual investor. On average across the UK, a commercial investment will bring a yield of 10.7%, while the average residential property offers a yield of just 3.7%. Currently, Scotland and the North West offer the highest residential yields at 4.4% and 4.3%, while Scotland is also home to the highest commercial yield at 20.4%, along with the South West (13.7%). Both regions are also home to the largest gap between the average residential yield and the average commercial yield. Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “It’s fair to say that both the residential and commercial markets have been impacted by the pandemic and so it’s hard for investors to know where to put their money at present. But tough times can also bring great opportunity and with the country now reopening from both a professional and social standpoint, both sectors are set to see a return to health over the coming months. There are a plethora of factors to consider from your initial investment level, which sector to choose and the ongoing requirements, capital gains potential, as well as the regional disparities across these sectors in each region of the UK. While a commercial investment may offer a higher yield, the recovery timeline as a result of the pandemic is set to stretch on far longer than that of the residential rental market and residential property investment remains by far the dominant force where availability, affordability and total sector value is concerned. However, commercial investment can provide a more hands-off approach for those doing so through a third-party platform, while the amateur buy-to-let landlord is sure to spend more time sorting out tenant issues and so on. The best approach is a balanced portfolio and one that considers the pros and cons of each market from both a residential and commercial standpoint.” Table shows the current average asking price, value of the market, number of properties and proportion of total properties across both the commercial and residential markets Region Resi number of properties Resi asking price Est total value % of market Comm number of properties Comm asking price Est total value % of market London 103,471 £1,048,760 £108,516,245,960 19.1% 1,331 £1,526,731 £2,032,078,961 11.1% South East 103,293 £454,581 £46,955,035,233 19.1% 1,172 £2,032,700 £2,382,324,400 9.7% East Midlands 35,842 £275,169 £9,862,607,298 6.6% 780 £972,202 £758,317,560 6.5% East of England 65,333 £365,714 £23,893,192,762 12.1% 741 £645,600 £478,389,600 6.2% North East 22,423 £202,181 £4,533,504,563 4.1% 783 £347,866 £272,379,078 6.5% North West 48,599 £227,049 £11,034,354,351 9.0% 1,438 £429,830 £618,095,540 12.0% South West 49,629 £403,642 £20,032,348,818 9.2% 1,547 £534,867 £827,439,249 12.9% West Midlands 36,619 £289,322 £10,594,682,318 6.8% 1,175 £478,938 £562,752,150 9.8% Yorkshire and The Humber 29,099 £201,512 £5,863,797,688 5.4% 1,152 £330,030 £380,194,560 9.6% Scotland 25,310 £191,332 £4,842,612,920 4.7% 1,110 £305,749 £339,381,390 9.2% Wales 21,372 £244,530 £5,226,095,160 3.9% 768 £417,946 £320,982,528 6.4% Northern Ireland 976 £184,416 £179,990,016 0.2% 25 £396,942 £9,923,550 0.2% United Kingdom 541,966 £259,850 £251,534,467,087 100.0% 12,022 £454,384 £8,982,258,566 100.0% Table shows the current average yield across both the commercial and residential markets Region Resi asking price Resi asking rent pm Resi average yield Comm asking price Comm asking rent pm Comm average yield Scotland £191,332 £706 4.4% £305,749 £5,204 20.4% South West £403,642 £1,031 3.1% £534,867 £6,097 13.7% Yorkshire and The Humber £201,512 £633 3.8% £330,030 £3,549 12.9% Northern Ireland £184,416 £277 1.8% £396,942 £3,605 10.9% Wales £244,530 £806 4.0% £417,946 £3,597 10.3% West Midlands £289,322 £810 3.4% £478,938 £3,692 9.3% North East £202,181 £667 4.0% £347,866 £2,570 8.9% North West £227,049 £810 4.3% £429,830 £3,168 8.8% East of England £365,714 £1,057 3.5% £645,600 £4,377 8.1% London £1,048,760 £2,643 3.0% £1,526,731 £9,681 7.6% East Midlands £275,169 £802 3.5% £972,202 £5,053 6.2% South East £454,581 £1,356 3.6% £2,032,700 £7,848 4.6% United Kingdom £302,577 £869 3.4% £317,890 £5,204 19.6%