From April 1, 2026 forecourt operators see their business rates increase by an average of 29%, partly due to the previous valuation period using covid-levels of trading to calculate bills.
There are 5,476 forecourts listed in England and Wales by the government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which is responsible for calculating a business’ rateable value – an estimation of what a property would rent for on the open market, and the base from which rates are calculated (Scotland and NI rates are set by devolved govts).
From 1 April 2026, 4,436 of these forecourts will see their rates increase, with the average rise being 39%, while 905 sites will see rates fall (average drop: 16.5%) and just 135 will keep the same bills.
Some 294 forecourts will see increases of 100% or more, while 70 will be hit with 200% increases. One motorway services petrol station, meanwhile, is seeing its rates rise from £192,000 to £360,000, while an independent operator detailed in our case studies below is facing a 500% increase for their forecourt.
Taking into account both rises and falls in the sector, the average uplift in business rates for forecourts in England and Wales from April 1, 2026 will be 29%.
Jump to a section:
- Case studies
- What can forecourt operators do to challenge rates increases?
- Smaller forecourt firms lose out
- Bigger operators win
- Business rates explained
- What does the VOA say?
Case studies:
1. The 500% increase
Oliver Blake is facing a significant uptick in the business rates for his Oasis Services forecourt. Last financial year the rateable value for his forecourt stood at £17,250 but for 2026/27 has been set an eye-watering £104,000 valuation.
“I’ve got the local MP coming out to talk to me,” Blake says. “This is the highest increase they’ve ever seen; they’ve heard of rates quadrupling, but ours are going up fivefold.”
He adds: “We’re a third-generation family business and a single-site retailer. Where are we supposed to find the extra money from?”
2. The successful challenge
Last year Guy White paid £32,700 in business rates, but was hit with an £89,500 bill for the 2026/27 financial year. “When I was presented with that, I was extremely unhappy”, White says.
After contacting the VOA, though, he was able to bring his tax obligations down dramatically.
“I got hold of the government’s Valuation Office Agency and explained that with all the other cost increases we’re facing, the rates increase would make it very difficult for us to continue operating.”
The VOA subsequently reduced White’s next year’s business rates to £57,000. “I’m much more comfortable with that, although I wouldn’t say I’m happy, and I will challenge it when appeals open on April 1.”
What can forecourt operators do to challenge rate increases?
“Don’t panic” – that’s the key message from Paul Sewell, managing director of chartered surveyors MUA. Sewell advises that while forecourt operators may be facing higher business rates, they have three years to undertake the Valuation Office Agency’s ‘Check, Challenge or Appeal’ (CCA) process for any new rateable value.
Before doing so, though, operators are strongly advised to open a free account with the VOA to obtain a detailed breakdown of their rate calculation, which can be done from 1 April ’26.
This is because while it is possible a site has been assessed with too high a value, the VOA may also have underestimated its RV, and any reassessment could lead to an increase in rates. Note there is no requirement to declare an underassessment if what has been declared to the VOA previously is accurate.
Sewell also advises that 2026 RVs will be based on April 2024 values, and firms should look at this figure to determine if it fairly represents the rent they might pay for a site.
Similarly, if rival firms have opened or significantly updated sites close to the forecourt in question since 2023, this should also impact the trade figures the VOA used to calculate RVs.
Sewell notes that some aspects of challenging VOA calculations can only be done once, while if a ‘Challenge’ is made, this must be applied for by the same person who requested the VOA ‘Check’ its workings. These factors make engaging professional advice worth considering at an early stage.
Smaller forecourt firms lose out
Smaller forecourt operators may be negatively impacted by these changes, with larger ones benefiting.
For example: a single site operator with an RV of £50,000 would, after the multiplier was applied, have had a £24,950 rate bill last year – but this would have been dropped by 40% with RHL rate relief, leading to an actual bill of just £14,970.
From 1 April 2026, that same operator will get an actual bill of £19,100 (£50,000 RV times the 38.2p small RHL business multiplier), with the RHL multiplier. Any additional Transitional Relief will be quite transient.
Bigger operators win
By contrast, under the old regime a firm with 100 sites and a total RV of £5m brought about by a mix of sites with RVs averaging £50,000 (but all under £500k each) might have had a total business-rate bill of around £2.8m, on which a maximum RHL covid relief of £110,000 would be applied.
For the 2026/27 financial year, while that same large firm will not receive the £110,000 relief, they will get the RHL multiplier discount of 5p on every property, leading to a rates reduction of £250,000 instead of £110,000.
Paul Sewell, managing director with chartered surveyor firm MUA, notes: “Whilst small independents face this drastic reduction in ‘help’, the larger portfolios gain by the complete lifting of the annual £110k cap on relief per company or group. Whatever one’s own position, this result seems completely counterintuitive.”
Business rates explained
Rateable values
Every three years the VOA reassesses the rateable value of business properties before using these as the basis from which business rates are calculated.
The last valuation change was implemented on April 1 2023, meaning the same date in 2026 will see the next update implemented.
Rateable values are calculated using several factors. For all businesses, the calculation begins with an estimate of what a property would rent for on the open market.
Multipliers
Once a rateable value (RV) is calculated, a multiplier is applied to the figure. Multipliers change every three years with Revaluation and are then increased annually in-line with the Consumer Prices Index.
As an example, a smaller site with an RV of £50,000 attracted a multiplier of 49.9 pence for FY 25/26, paying £24,950 a year in business rates.
By comparison, a large site with an RV of £100,000 would have attracted a multiplier of 55.5p, leading to a bill of £55,500.
Multipliers are applied on a per-property basis, rather than on a per-company basis, and it is likely large firms will have a mix of property sizes and therefore several multipliers.
Covid and trade levels
To account for different types of forecourt models and the fact that not all sites are rack rented, trade levels are also reflected when calculating RVs.
These levels, known as Fair Maintainable Trade (FMT), consider revenue from a site’s fuel, shop and any valeting operations, as well as a forecourt’s location and design.
The last time these values were determined was in 2023, and due to the time making such calculations takes, the date from which figures were drawn was set as 1/4/2021.
Complicating matters is covid, which brought with it vastly reduced trading levels, leading the VOA to use trading levels from as far back as 2019, in conjunction with 2020 and 2021 figures, to hit upon what it deemed a fair FMT estimate.
And, as if that weren’t enough, covid also brought with it business-rate relief, which saw bills brought down to reflect the squeeze lockdowns placed on trade.
An end to rate relief
From April 1, 2023, retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) businesses (including filling stations) were granted rate relief of 75%, falling to 40% from 2024/25, up to a maximum value of £110,000. This meant a small forecourt operator could receive a significant reduction in their overall rates, whereas a firm with 100 sites could only save £110,000 across its entire portfolio.
From 1 April 2026, the RHL 40% relief is being cancelled. In its place, lower multipliers are being introduced, with small RHL properties (those with an RV of under £51,000) subject to a 38.2p multiplier.
Larger RHL sites with total RVs of between £51,000 and £499,999 are being given a 43p multiplier Both of these first two categories show a 5p discount to the non-retail multipliers., while really big RHL sites with total RVs of £500k and up get a 50.8p rate with no retail reduction.
What does the VOA say?
A spokesperson from the VOA told Forecourt Trader: “We have a legal duty to value properties in line with legislation and our approach to valuing petrol stations has been agreed with representatives from the industry.
“For the last revaluation, the values for many petrol filling stations reflected the effect of pandemic restrictions at the time. Evidence suggests that trade for these businesses has recovered since then and, as a result, some valuations have increased.
“Ratepayers can tell us if the information we hold about their property is wrong and we will update their valuation if new information comes to light.”
