Business Rates Consultancy · England and Wales
RVR Rating Partners checks, challenges and appeals business rates on behalf of businesses across England and Wales — correcting VOA miscalculations and reclaiming what's been overpaid.
Many businesses in England and Wales never check whether their rateable value is right. It's set by the Valuation Office Agency from a snapshot of the market — and snapshots go out of date, get miscalculated, or simply don't reflect your property.
Business rates are calculated from a property's rateable value — its estimated open-market rental value. In England and Wales, rating lists are generally revalued every three years, so the figure on your bill can lag well behind reality.
If it is overstated, you may be paying more than necessary until someone corrects it.
A full suite of services covering every stage of the rates lifecycle — from first review through to appeal.
We examine size, use, condition, location and classification against the VOA's assessment to spot miscalculations and overvaluation before they cost you another quarter.
Where we find an error, we build the evidence and run the case with the VOA on your behalf — check, challenge, and appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if required.
We check you're claiming everything you're entitled to — Small Business Rate Relief, charitable relief, and other reliefs and discounts for which you may be eligible.
Revaluations and local policy shift over time. We keep watching your account so a future increase doesn't catch you unprepared.
The Check, Challenge, Appeal process — handled end to end, so you're not the one filing paperwork with the VOA.
A no-obligation review of your current rateable value against comparable properties and market evidence.
We confirm the details the VOA holds on file — floor area, use, classification — are correct.
Where the facts don't stack up, we submit a formal challenge with evidence and a proposed alternative value.
If needed, we escalate to the Valuation Tribunal — and stay in your corner until it's resolved.
About RVR Rating Partners
We're not your local council, and we're not a national volume shop. We're a small, specialist team that knows the VOA's methods well enough to find the gaps.
Accountability sits at the centre of how we work — we tell you plainly whether a case is worth pursuing, and we don't file appeals we don't believe in.
Size, use, condition, location, classification — the details that actually move a rateable value.
Market comparisons and benchmarking data behind every challenge we submit.
Forms, deadlines and correspondence with the VOA — off your desk and onto ours.
We check eligibility for SBRR, charitable relief and local discounts as standard.
Real cases from businesses we've represented — each one links back to the business itself so you can check the story stands up.
Every review is submitted by a client we've worked with, and checked before it's published.
Our rateable value dropped from £25,500 to £21,750, backdated across the list period. Straightforward from the first call.
Verified clientDidn't expect much of a change but they still found £3,000 in savings for us. Kept us updated the whole way through.
Verified clientOur rateable value came down from £22,500 to £21,000. Small change on paper but it adds up over three years.
Verified clientNo jargon, no false promises — they told us upfront what to expect and delivered a fair reduction on our valuation.
Verified clientGood result in the end, took a little longer than expected because the VOA was slow — not on RVR's end.
Verified clientThey reviewed our rateable value and found £5,250 of savings we didn't know we were owed. Would recommend.
Verified clientModest saving on our figure, but the review itself was thorough and gave us confidence the valuation is now correct.
Verified clientClear communication throughout and a £12,000 saving over the rating period once the challenge went through.
Verified clientKept us updated at every stage of the appeal and saved us a genuinely significant amount over the year.
Verified clientStraight answers on how business rates work and how we handle a case.
Search matches your question against our answers below.
Business rates are a tax on non-domestic property, calculated from your property's rateable value — the estimated open-market rental value set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). In England and Wales, rating lists are generally revalued every three years, so the figure can fall out of step with reality between updates.
The clearest signs are a rateable value that hasn't been reviewed since your property changed, a valuation that looks out of line with similar nearby properties, or simply never having had it checked. Our free assessment compares your figure against the VOA's own data and comparable properties.
It's the VOA's three-stage route to correcting a rateable value. Check confirms the facts held on file are accurate. Challenge sets out formally why the value is wrong, with evidence and a proposed alternative. Appeal escalates an unresolved challenge to the Valuation Tribunal. We manage all three stages on your behalf.
A tribunal appeal may generally be made if the VOA has not decided a challenge within 18 months, though many resolve faster. If it goes to appeal, the Valuation Tribunal adds further time. We'll give you a realistic estimate for your specific case once we've reviewed it.
Yes — you must continue paying your existing bill throughout the check, challenge and appeal process. If the appeal succeeds, any overpayment is refunded or credited.
We'll always give you a clear figure before any work starts, and we'll tell you honestly if a case isn't worth pursuing rather than take it on regardless. Ask us for a quote as part of your free assessment.
We're based in Manchester, but we act for businesses throughout England and Wales.
If an appeal doesn't result in a reduction, you won't be charged our fee — that's what "No Savings, No Fee" means in practice. We'll also give you an honest view up front if we don't think a case is strong enough to pursue, rather than take it on regardless.
Relief and exemptions depend on your property type, rateable value and circumstances — common examples include small business rates relief, retail relief and empty property relief. As part of a free assessment we'll check what you may be entitled to alongside reviewing your rateable value.
The 2026 revaluation updates rateable values across England and Wales to reflect more current rental evidence, which can mean a significant change to your liability either way, alongside any transitional relief that phases the change in. If your rateable value hasn't been reviewed since the revaluation, it's worth getting it checked.
Just your business rates account details and property address to begin — we'll pull the rest from the VOA's own records and let you know if anything further is needed as we build your case.
Most reviews take one phone call to get started. If there's nothing to reclaim, we'll tell you that too.
Get in touch
Send a few details and we'll come back with an honest view on whether it's worth a review — usually within one working day.
Careers at RVR Rating Partners
We're a small Manchester practice growing steadily — if you know business rates, or want to learn them properly, we'd like to hear from you.
Reviewing rateable values, building challenge evidence, and running client cases through Check, Challenge, Appeal.
First point of contact for new enquiries and existing clients, keeping cases moving and communication clear.
Send your CV anyway — we're always happy to hear from people who know this field.
Fill this in and we’ll be in touch. You’ll get a confirmation email with your application reference.
Prefer email? vacancies@rvrratingpartners.co.uk