Eastbourne Hotels – new Business Rate reductions in 2010
25 February 2010: Eastbourne Hotels get reduction in business rates through Bisset Moffatt Hill.
Every area within the Rating List has it’s own characteristics. With the collection of Regency period 2star hotels in Eastbourne there have been years of neglect where the Valuation Office have never been given the correct data to ensure that the assessments are fair. Many unqualified agents who prey on hard pressed hoteliers have allowed the continuation of the simple £x/double bedroom assessment method to continue unchallenged.
Our clients, comprising West Rocks Hotel, Savoy Court Hotel, The Heatherliegh Hotel and the Marine Parade Hotel had the foresight to engage Roderick Bisset BSc MRICS to review their assessments, you can see by the table below this proved to be a very valuable exercise
| Occupier | Address |
Original |
BMH settlement |
Reduction |
| West Rocks Hotel | 44-46 Grand Parade, Eastbourne BN21 4DL |
£43,700 |
£18,500 |
-57.7% |
| Marine Parade Hotel | 13-14 Marine Parade, Eastbourne BN21 3DX |
£22,000 |
£15,500 |
-29.5% |
| Savoy Court Hotel | 11-15 Cavendish Place, Eastbourne BN21 3EJ |
£22,450 |
£11,250 |
-49.9% |
| Heatherleigh Hotel | 63-66 Royal Parade, Eastbourne BN21 7AG |
£35,250 |
£25,250 |
-28.3% |
What is surprising is that two of these hotels had their assessments appealed on previous occasions.
If you own licensed premises and there have been changes in your area then you owe it to yourself to get a second opinion. In Eastbourne a Travelodge was established on the seafront in 2007 giving each hotel the circumstances to make a second rating appeal in order to be reassessed again. The argument being if my hotel is worth £50,000 on 1 April 2005 then it must be worth less after 2007 as the increased competition from such an efficient operator such as Travelodge has had a material impact on my trade.
Roderick Bisset says, “Eastbourne hoteliers are wary of anyone that offers advice in respect of business rates due to the areas special problems with rogue advisors in the past. The trust is gone but for the few that have engaged us to work on their behalf the rewards have been obvious. Sadly with such a short amount of time before the 31 March 2010 deadline many hoteliers will probably miss out.”
Bisset Moffatt Hill Chartered Valuation Surveyors always look out for these changes in physical circumstances so their clients can achieve effective reductions in their business rates. For more information call our Crawley office on 01293 440066.
