Ei Group, formerly Enterprise Inns, is bolstering support for lessees and tenants seeking advice on business rates.
The group has appointed Colliers International, Harris Lamb and Lambert Smith Hampton to offer guidance to licensees.
A competitive success-based fee has been negotiated with the advisers, with payment only made if rates are reduced.
The company has examined the impact on its estate and believes that whilst rateable values (RV) are set to increase overall, with pubs in London and the south east of England particularly hardest hit, a significant number of pubs will nevertheless see their RV reduced and rates bills fall from April.
Simon Millar, estates director at Ei Group, said: “We recognise that the changes to business rates will be a concern to our publicans and we are determined to offer them the best support possible to help them navigate their way through the appeals process.
“In the past, we have heard of circumstances of publicans being cold-called by perhaps less scrupulous advisers, which is really not how we would prefer our publicans to be accessing business rates advice. Some of these less reputable firms give a relatively poor service and take a large up-front, non-returnable, fee from publicans.
“We’ve decided to work with a panel of three selected specialist firms to support our publicans in ensuring they are paying the correct amount for their business rates. By choosing to use a member of our preferred panel of professional Chartered Surveyors, our publicans know they will be accessing a quality service that is both professional and reliable.
“Even if a pub receives a reduction in rates, that doesn’t automatically mean that that the new level shouldn’t be reviewed and potentially appealed as, in some cases, the proposed reductions should be a lot bigger.”
