Apply for the Retail Multiplier 2026/27

You could qualify for the Lower Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Multiplier for 2026/27

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the UK Government announced that from 2026/27, existing Business Rate Relief for retail, hospitality or leisure (RHL) properties would be replaced by a lower rates multiplier to calculate the business rates payable on those properties.

The amounts of the new multipliers are not known yet, but are expected to be confirmed in the 2025 Autumn Budget.

New multipliers

Qualifying retail, hospitality, or leisure properties will be eligible for one of two new multipliers:

Small business RHL multiplier

For qualifying properties with a rateable value of under £51,000.

Standard RHL multiplier

For qualifying properties with a rateable value between £51,000 and £499,999.

There is no reduced multiplier for properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or higher.

How to apply for the lower multiplier

The Council cannot apply these lower multipliers automatically, as they are based on the property's use, not just the valuation description.

Please read the guidance notes below before applying. You will need to know your business rates account number to apply.

Apply for the Retail Relief 2026/27

Properties that will benefit from the lower multipliers

Properties that are wholly or mainly used for qualifying retail, hospitality or leisure purposes will qualify for the relief. This is a test on the use of the property, not just on the valuation description applied by the Valuation Office Agency.

Only occupied premises can qualify for a lower multiplier.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of examples of retail, hospitality and leisure properties that will qualify for the lower multipliers.

Retail sale or hire of goods

Retail sale or hire of goods refers to the sale or hire of goods directly to the end user. It excludes wholesale sales and hires.

  • shops
  • supermarkets
  • charity shops
  • shopping centres
  • motorway service stations
  • florists
  • bakers
  • butchers
  • grocers
  • greengrocers
  • jewellers
  • stationers
  • off licences
  • chemists
  • opticians
  • newsagents
  • hardware stores
  • markets
  • petrol stations
  • garden centres
  • furniture shops and display rooms
  • car and caravan showrooms, including those for second-hand vehicles
  • art galleries where art is for sale or hire

Properties from which:

  • bicycles are hired
  • cars are hired
  • domestic goods are hired
  • tools are hired

Properties used for the provision of a service

  • funeral directors
  • launderettes
  • hair and beauty salons. For example, hairdressers, nail bars, beauty salons, tanning shops, salons carrying out non-surgical cosmetic procedures, and salons carrying out piercings.
  • tattooists
  • garages
  • shoe repairers
  • key cutters
  • dry cleaners
  • PC, TV or domestic appliance repairers
  • photo processers
  • post offices, excluding post office sorting offices and post depots where customers can only collect missed deliveries
  • travel agents
  • ticket offices, for example, for the theatre
  • animal grooming parlours or stabling of animals, unless stabling working animals such as professional racehorses, as these would not be open to visiting members of the public

Properties used for the sale of food or drink

This list is for properties used for the sale or food or drink, where the food or drink is for consumption on or off the property by visiting members of the public.

  • restaurants
  • takeaways, providing that it is generally open to visiting members of the public, even if the majority of their sales are online or by delivery
  • sandwich shops
  • coffee shops
  • cafes
  • pubs
  • bars

Properties used for hospitality or accommodation as a business

  • hotels
  • boarding or guest houses
  • bed and breakfasts
  • self-catering holiday homes
  • apartments used for short-term lets, including serviced apartments, where they are within the scope of business rates
  • caravan parks
  • campsites

Properties providing cultural, community or recreational facilities to visiting members of the public

  • live music venues
  • nightclubs
  • cinemas
  • theatres
  • libraries
  • museums
  • galleries
  • archives
  • stately homes and historic houses
  • tourist information centres
  • public halls and village halls
  • venues for hire for events or activities, where the events and activities are mainly for the benefit of visiting members of the public
  • sports and leisure facilities, such as gyms, sports grounds, and sports clubs
  • health spas, wellness centres, and massage parlours
  • casinos, gambling clubs, and bingo halls
  • theme parks
  • soft play centres
  • zoos
  • swimming pools, unless exclusively used by professional athletes, as these would not be open to visiting members of the public
  • skating rinks, unless exclusively used by professional athletes, as these would not be open to visiting members of the public

Properties used wholly or mainly for:

  • meetings by voluntary associations
  • youth groups for meetings and activities, such as scout huts
  • lectures or lessons undertaken for recreational purposes, such as art classes, pottery classes, language lessons and performing arts classes
  • activities such as bowling, laser tag, paintballing, escape rooms, and miniature golf

Properties that will not qualify for the lower multipliers

Properties that will not qualify for the lower multipliers include:

  • unoccupied properties
  • properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or above, even if used for a qualifying retail, hospitality or leisure purpose
  • properties which are wholly or mainly used for one of the excluded uses below

Examples of uses of properties that will not qualify for the lower multipliers

  • financial services, such as banks, building societies, cash points, bureaux de change, short-term loan providers, insurance agents and financial advisers
  • medical and health services, such as medicine, dentistry, audiology and hearing services, cosmetic surgery, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic services, acupuncture and herbal medicine
  • professional services, such as law, accountancy, tax advice, management consultancy, engineering services, architectural or surveying services, veterinary services, estate agency work and letting agency work
  • storage and distribution of goods for online sales, such as warehouses. This means warehouses for online distributors are excluded, even if a small part of the warehouse is open to the visiting members of the public for in-person sales. However, where the property is wholly or mainly used for the sale or retail goods to visiting members of the public, it remains inside the definition of RHL, even if the property is also used for online or click-and-collect services.
  • recording studios and film studios for business or professional use
  • crematoria
  • taxi and minicab firms
  • show homes
  • conference centres
  • betting shops
  • postal sorting offices
  • Citizens' Advice Bureaus
  • job centres
  • marinas, wharfs, piers and jetties
  • car parks
  • public transport sites other than bicycle docking stations, such as bus and coach stations, bus and tram shelters, railway stations, tramway stations, airports, ferry ports, riverboat services and piers used for river services
  • schools, crèches, nurseries, colleges and universities, as they are not open to visiting members of the public
  • alcohol production properties such as breweries, unless wholly or mainly open to visiting members of the public. For example, mainly used as a bar or for public tours, with the production of alcohol being a supporting part of this.
  • film and theatre production companies, as they are not open to visiting members of the public

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