Spring Statement confirms 2026 as pivotal year for business rates reform

Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement today confirmed that major business rates changes scheduled for April 2026 remain central to the government’s growth and tax strategy, even though there were no fresh rating measures announced at the despatch box. The Chancellor again framed business taxation around “fairness”, signalling a continued shift in the burden towards larger properties while trying to lock in more predictable support for smaller high‑street operators. 2026: A Watershed Year for Ratepayers From 1 April 2026, a new rating list based on April 2024 rental values will take effect, alongside a more granular set of multipliers. In practice, that means:

• A higher “large property” multiplier for assets with Rateable Values (RV) above key thresholds.
• Lower multipliers reserved for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties below set value bands.
• Transitional and “supporting small business” protections to phase in the sharpest increases.

At the same time, the generous temporary RHL reliefs currently softening bills are due to fall away at the end of this month, creating a potential cliff edge for some businesses. For some portfolios, the shift from temporary relief to a new permanent structure will matter more than any headline rate change. Reeves’ Direction of Travel Today’s statement underlined three clear policy directions from the Chancellor that should be noted:

• More of the overall tax burden pushed towards the largest and most valuable properties.
• A move away from short‑term, annually renewed discounts towards structurally lower rates for smaller high‑street occupiers.
• Ongoing use of the rating system to support wider priorities such as town‑centre regeneration and the net‑zero transition, for example through targeted reliefs for certain types of infrastructure.

The message is that 2026 is not a one‑off reset but the start of a more differentiated rating environment, where sector, size and location all play a bigger role in how much you pay. What This Means for Occupiers and Investors For many businesses, the biggest risk now is not a surprise announcement in a future fiscal event, but underestimating how this already‑announced framework will play through at property level from 2026/27 onwards. The interaction between new RVs, revised multipliers, the tapering of reliefs and transitional caps will create very different outcomes across portfolios. Questions every ratepayer should be asking include:

• Which properties sit close to key RV thresholds where multipliers change.
• Where the loss of RHL or small business relief could combine with higher values to produce sharp uplifts.
• How transitional protections might phase those increases, and for how long.

Treating business rates as a strategic cost rather than a simple overhead line will be crucial, particularly for multi‑site operators. Dunlop Heywood: How We Can Help With the 2026 list drawing closer, this is the moment to quantify the impact rather than wait for bills to land. Dunlop Heywood is already working with occupiers, landlords and investors to:

• Map exposure around key RV thresholds and sector‑specific multipliers across entire portfolios.
• Model 2026–2029 rating costs under different valuation and relief scenarios to support budgeting and investment decisions.
• Identify assets at greatest risk of sharp uplifts once temporary reliefs unwind and transitional protections start to taper.
• Prepare evidence and strategy in readiness for checks and appeals when the new list is published.

If you would like a portfolio‑level impact review of the 2026 reforms, or support in building future business rates costs into your estate and investment strategy, the Dunlop Heywood team is ready to help. www.dunlopheywood.com