WSP GL Hearn Business Rates Advisory

Business rates can be a substantial burden on a business, stifling investment and impacting profitability. With a proactive approach, the burden of business rates can be reduced and significant savings realised. WSP GL Hearn is a leading UK business rates advisor, on hand to support you to reduce the cost of business rates across your commercial property portfolio.

For over a century, WSP GL Hearn has been a pioneer in reducing ratepayer liabilities. Since first launching in 1923 we have become one of the UK's leading business rate advisory firms managing over £3Bn worth of business rates liabilities annually. 

Our team, comprising over 160 business rates experts, operates nationally from two main administrative centres in Cheltenham and Southampton, with a presence across the wider WSP office network, ensuring comprehensive UK coverage. Our size and expertise position us to effectively manage business rates for even the most complex property portfolios.

We are committed to finding every avenue to minimise your business rates.

While our leadership in the retail and food sectors across high street and out-of-town is renowned, we also possess significant expertise in the leisure and hospitality, health, specialist distribution, and office sectors.

Our team provides an extensive business rates advisory service, including:

Estimates and budgets: Our advice enables clients to develop strategies to invest and manage risk.

Check, Challenge and Appeal: We provide extensive advice on checking, challenging and appealing the rateable value of large scale property portfolios across varied asset classes. 

Challenge Strategies: We advise on opportunities across property portfolios devising proactive strategies and managing all Challenge activities on behalf of our clients. 

Rate Payment Management: We provide a fully RICS compliant rate payment management and client monies service in-house. 

Historic Rates Audit: We offer an in-house historic rates audit service.

Empty Rates Mitigation: Our in-house team will explore opportunities to save money where you have empty properties across your portfolio. 

Service Charge and Insurance: We undertake service charge audits to ensure compliance with lease terms. We also advise on budgeting and drafting of lease terms to maximise cost controls over the life of the lease.

We have a significant number of specialists from billing authorities and the Valuation Office Agency in our team, as well as from private practice. This unique combination ensures we have the best team to meet your needs and provide the highest quality advisory service. Our clients can attest to the critical importance of having a knowledgeable and leading market base.

Our client relationships, many of which have spanned years, continue to thrive as we expand our team and services, supported by a unique  in-house business rates client liaison and Rate Payment Management teams. 

We are regulated by RICS for the provision of surveying services. This means we agree to uphold the RICS Rules of Conduct and all other applicable mandatory professional practice requirements of RICS, which can be found at www.rics.org.  

As an RICS regulated firm we have committed to cooperating with RICS in ensuring compliance with its standards. The firm’s nominated RICS Responsible Principal is Richard Williamson, Director – National Head of Business Rates, richard.williamson@glhearn.com.

Richard Williamson

National Head of Business Rates

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