Harrods to benefit in business rates rejig

Harrods and Selfridges are among the biggest winners in the government’s corporate tariff shake-up.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed this week that the April revaluation would go ahead, with bills changing in line with changes in the rental market.

For the first time since 2015, real estate will receive new ‘calculable values’, based on how much they are worth. And the luxury department stores will see hefty cuts in bills.

The retail value of the Selfridges store on Oxford Street in central London will be nearly halved in April, bringing business rates to £8.6m, a saving of £7.6m.

Harrods’ Knightsbridge store will also see its taxable value nearly halved, bringing the bill down £8m to £9.2m.

In general, department stores and other large stores such as Primark, Ikea and House of Fraser will see the biggest declines as demand for large retail space in the city center declines.

The average taxable value of this category has fallen by more than a third, according to research by real estate company Altus Group.

But the value of the largest category of properties, with 423,690 standard High Street stores, fell by just 8.4 per cent.

Robert Hayton, president of Altus UK, said: “These modest discounts on most retail properties are very difficult to reconcile with the collapse in demand for new leases around the valuation date during the latter stages and immediately after the Covid restrictions. ‘