THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 160, August 2026
Dog of the month: Fenn The Bottle, Newquay
Business rates review could save indies around £6,000 Andy Burnham’s suggestion to raise threshold from £12,000 to £18,000 looks like good news for medium-sized shops
M
any independent wine shops could see savings of around
£6,000 a year if Andy Burnham’s
plan for a review of business rates becomes a reality in his first Budget as prime minister.
During his leadership campaign,
Burnham repeatedly proposed raising
the rateable-value threshold for 100%
small business rates relief from £12,000
to £18,000 – a move which could result in
an extra 140,000 small premises paying no
business rates at all.
business rates are a financial burden they
premises with a rateable value between
could see its annual £5,730 rates bill wiped
There is also speculation of tapered
business rates relief being applied to £18,000 and around £21,000.
Larger independents, and merchants
whose rateable values are relatively high because they are in primary locations in
popular areas, would gain nothing under
the proposals as they have been reported. But the plans could be good news for
many medium-sized businesses for which
could do without.
A shop with a rateable value of £15,000
out. At the top end of the scale, a premises with a rateable value of £18,000 could see
its current £6,876 bill disappear (based on the multiplier of 38.2p in the pound).
The real savings may be lower where
merchants already receive discretionary local relief – or if the plans discriminate against alcohol retailers.
Trevor Coles (pictured centre) and his team are celebrating 20 years of Priory Wines. The business started trading in retail premises in Christchurch, Dorset, but for the majority of its existence has operated from an industrial estate in the New Forest, where a blend of wholesale and retail trading has proved a winning formula. See page 2