Marina Business Rates U-Turn Welcomed

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Property consultancy Vail Williams has welcomed a Government U-turn on marinas being excluded from lower rate multipliers in the forthcoming business rates revaluation as a ‘victory for common sense’.

The firm, which acts for a number of the UK’s top marina operators covering multiple sites, is now conveying the news to clients.

This move brings marinas into the same category as retail and leisure businesses such as pubs and restaurants. Business rates will continue to be administered by local authorities.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) updated the rateable values of all commercial, and other non-domestic, properties in England and Wales which take effect from 1 April.

The 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.

However, marinas were specifically excluded from the RHL lower rates multiplier and faced being subjected to the standard business rates multiplier which applies to non-RHL business properties.

Following a campaign backed by industry body British Marine, the Government has announced a refinement in the Statutory Instrument (SI) defining which properties would be eligible for the new RHL business rates multipliers that will be coming into effect in April.

Dan Tomlinson, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury announced the change in a letter to British Marine CEO Lesley Robinson. He said:

“I recognise that marinas are distinct from transport properties and that they form part of the infrastructure of leisure activity. Furthermore, the intention has always been for the scope of the new multipliers to broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. Thank you for bringing to my attention that local authorities are currently awarding RHL relief to marinas."

“The Government will therefore be amending the SI ahead of the policy coming into force on 1 April to remove marinas from Schedule 1. This means that marinas with rateable values below £500,000 and that are wholly or mainly used for leisure/recreational purposes will be eligible for the lower business rates multipliers.”

“Ahead of then, the online guidance will be updated, and local authorities will be made aware of the upcoming amendment.”

The reversal means that qualifying marinas will benefit from the 43 pence RHL rate, rather than the standard 48 pence rate.

Vail Williams partner and head of business rates Adam Barnfield said:

“This U-turn can be considered to be a victory for common sense and will benefit the vast majority of marinas which qualify for the lower business rates multipliers."

“However, there have been significant increases in the VOA assessments of the rateable value applied to marinas, with an average 23% increase in values and an additional £5.8 million of rateable value” – which equates to approximately £2.5m in additional revenue for the treasury.”

“Although this is obviously a welcome change in stance from Government, the increase in RV and the removal of the existing retail, hospitality and leisure relief will still have a significant impact on business rates liabilities.”

Ian Froome, Vail Williams partner and head of marine & leisure, added that the upcoming amendment regarding lower rates measures would be welcomed by marina operators as a silver lining, but there would certainly be increased costs all around.

“We cannot say there will be euphoria regarding this refinement in the revaluation process, but it is a cushioning of the significant increases faced by marina operators and should be accepted as such.”

Business rates revaluation 2026.

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Paul Andrews
Jun 28, 2023
2 min read

Blackfinch Group, the Gloucester-based investment specialist focused on tax-efficient investments, property lending, renewable energy and ventures, has hired finance lawyer Tom Marshall to strengthen its in-house legal team and enable the group to provide clients with significant cost, time and efficiency savings.

Tom Marshall joins Blackfinch from the banking and finance team at TLT (a national law firm with headquarters in Bristol), where he advised a wide range of clients on debt finance transactions. Prior to that, he trained and qualified at Osborne Clarke.

David Higson, Head of Blackfinch Property, says: “As a specialist lender, Tom’s real estate finance expertise and experience, and his experience acting for both lenders and borrowers, represents a real coup for the whole of Blackfinch Group. It’s incredibly rare to find his expertise available as an in-house service within the specialist lending sector. Our in-house legal team has already earned plaudits with commercial property developers and helped establish our reputation as a lender who goes the extra mile to facilitate complex deals through to completion. Now, with Tom on board, we will grow our capacity and loan book, enabling us to offer even faster transactions and processing - which will be music to the ears of our clients.”

Tom Marshall says: “I wanted to move in-house and I am attracted to the ethos of Blackfinch Group, plus the way that its portfolio is structured around property lending and its energy portfolio aligns perfectly with my experience. I’m also looking forward to getting involved in the ventures part of the business, where Blackfinch funds exciting and ground-breaking tech companies."

“One of the big attractions of Blackfinch Group is its agility and the speed at which we can do transactions - having the legal function in-house really helps with that because it means that we can do things that bit quicker and we're also closer to the commercial side of the transaction. And there's obviously a cost saving for our customers because the external legal fees are reduced, so there are lots of advantages.”

Blackfinch Group is committed to helping to create a more sustainable world through its focus on environment, social and governance factors.

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Marina Business Rates U-Turn Welcomed

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