Who this page is for
This page is for businesses that occupy industrial or warehouse property in England. That covers a workshop, a factory, a storage building or a logistics unit. The rateable values in view are commercial ones: from about £50,000, through the standard band, and at £500,000 or above where the high-value multiplier applies.
Save Business Rates introduces the enquiry to a RICS-regulated specialist. No win, no fee. Nothing on this page is an average saving or a client result.
How Check, Challenge, Appeal works
The route in England is the same three stages used for other commercial property. The longer account is the Check, Challenge, Appeal guide.
- Check. Confirm the facts: floor area, mezzanines, yard and external storage, and which plant and machinery the valuation includes.
- Challenge. If the rateable value is still too high, set out the rental evidence and the features of this unit — eaves height, loading, yard depth, specification — against the units it has been compared with.
- Appeal. If the challenge does not resolve it, the case can go to the Valuation Tribunal for England.
The 2026 list uses rental values at 1 April 2024 and runs to 31 March 2029.
What is specific to industrial and warehouse property
Plant and machinery
Some plant and machinery is reflected in the rateable value and some is not. Regulations set that boundary; it is not a matter of whether the item is useful to the occupier. A Check is the place to confirm what the Valuation Office Agency has included. Typical points of fact are an item assumed to be on site when it is not, an item that should sit outside the valuation, or plant that has been removed since the valuation was made.
Mezzanines
A mezzanine adds floor area, so it often changes the rateable value. The points that matter are whether it is still there, whether the area is right, and whether it has been valued as if it were the same quality of accommodation as the main floor. A lightweight storage deck is not the same as an extra production floor. If a mezzanine has been taken out, that is a factual point for a Check.
Yard space
Open land is often valued separately from the building. Yard, loading aprons, circulation and external storage can each carry their own rate per square metre. The question is whether the area measured, and the rate applied to it, match how the land is used. A yard valued as usable open storage when it is access, slope or landscaping is a different thing from a yard that can take trailers.
Logistics units are compared on the features a tenant would pay rent for at the valuation date: eaves height, doors, yard depth and specification, as well as location. Those are comparison points. They are not, on their own, a reason the rateable value must fall.
Which multiplier applies in 2026/27
Industrial and warehouse property is not retail, hospitality and leisure, so it does not use 38.2p or 43.0p. The England 2026/27 rates are 43.2p under £51,000, 48.0p from £51,000 to £499,999, and 50.8p at £500,000 or above. Units on the high-value rate are covered on the £500,000 multiplier page. The full table is on the UBR 2026/27 guide.
Worked example: a unit at £250,000
The illustration uses a rateable value of £250,000, around the level of a mid-sized industrial or logistics unit in the standard band. The assumption is: if the rateable value were reduced by 10%.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rateable value in this illustration | £250,000 |
| 10% of £250,000 | £25,000 |
| Rateable value if reduced by 10% (£250,000 − £25,000) | £225,000 |
| 2026/27 multiplier (still £51,000 to £499,999) | 48.0p |
| Bill now, before reliefs (£250,000 × 0.480) | £120,000 |
| Bill if the rateable value were reduced by 10% (£225,000 × 0.480) | £108,000 |
| Difference in one year (£120,000 − £108,000) | £12,000 |
| Same difference over the three list years, to 31 March 2029 (£12,000 × 3) | £36,000 |
Because the multiplier does not change, the one-year difference is also £25,000 × 0.480 = £12,000.
Questions
Who is the industrial and warehouse page for?
Occupiers of factories, workshops, warehouses and logistics units in England with a rateable value from about £50,000 into the £500,000 band and above. The worked example uses £250,000, in the standard band for 2026/27.
Can plant and machinery change a warehouse rateable value?
It can. Some plant and machinery is reflected in the rateable value and some is not. The regulations draw that line. A Check is where you confirm what the Valuation Office Agency has included, including an item that has been assumed to be there or an item that should sit outside the valuation.
How do mezzanines and yard space come into an industrial valuation?
A mezzanine adds floor area. If it has been removed, measured at the wrong size, or valued as if it were the same quality as the main floor when it is a lightweight storage deck, that is a point for Check or Challenge. Yard, loading, circulation and external storage are often valued separately from the building, at their own rate per square metre. The question is whether the area and the rate match the way the land is used.
What would a 10% reduction mean at a rateable value of £250,000?
This is an illustration, not a forecast. If the rateable value were reduced by 10%, £250,000 would become £225,000 (10% of £250,000 is £25,000). Both figures are in the standard band, so the 2026/27 multiplier stays at 48.0p. The bill before reliefs would move from £250,000 × 0.480 = £120,000 to £225,000 × 0.480 = £108,000, a difference of £12,000 in one year. If that same difference applied in each of the three years of the list, to 31 March 2029, the total would be £12,000 × 3 = £36,000. Multipliers for later years have not been set. No reliefs or supplements are included.
Do warehouses qualify for the retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers?
Warehouses, factories and other industrial property do not qualify for the retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers of 38.2p and 43.0p. In 2026/27 the rates are 43.2p under a rateable value of £51,000, 48.0p from £51,000 to £499,999, and 50.8p at £500,000 or above.
Ask for a check
A free check takes the property details to a RICS-regulated specialist. There is no fee unless the rateable value is reduced.