REG-Panther Securities: Business Rates <Origin Href="QuoteRef">PNS.L</Origin>

Panther SecuritiesAnnouncement

26/10/2016 07:05

26 October 2016

Panther Securities PLC

(the “Company” or “the Group”)

Business rates

Further to the comments made in the Chairman’s Statement included in the
interim results announced on 27 September 2016, which contained information
about how business rates might affect the Group, the majority of the new
commercial rating values assessed on April 2015 values, but effective from
April 2017 for England and Wales, have been announced together with the
phasing arrangements due to be implemented.

As the Chairman, Andrew Perloff, suspected, his cynicism was well founded. 
From a brief research on a number of the new values for the Group’s
properties, it is apparent that the values have been placed higher than
justified by the April 2015 rental values.  Andrew Perloff believes this is
because the Valuation Officers have used what they call the “broad brush
approach”.  Translated this means not carrying out a thorough review of
each property, but generalising and taking the highest denominator, as that
suits government revenue raising purposes.

The Valuation Office is proposing to make it awkward for appeals and possibly,
in many cases, arrange that the Valuation Officer is the Judge and Jury.  But
what Andrew Perloff and many others find so ridiculously onerous is the
phasing proposals for larger properties.  These properties, which have been
overvalued for two years and thus their business rates have been excessively
high (because of the delayed revaluation), will continue to bear a huge
burden.  The decrease is phased in at 4.6% in the first year, 5.1% the second
year and even after 5 years will only receive about 25% of the full reduction
due to them.  This is a truly parsimonious decrease and does not take account
of the likely inflation linked adjustment that will be added to then business
rates bills and almost certainly, in due course, wipe out the miserly
reductions.

On the other side of the coin, those with big increases in business rates
(mostly central London) that have saved money by the two-year delay are now
being hit with a massive 45% first year increase.

Leaving aside the scandal of charging at full level business rates on vacant
properties, the Directors believe this is a disgraceful, sneaky and unfair
imposition.  Larger retailers based out of the London area, will be hit
hardest, particularly those in the northern parts of England.

It is the government’s stated wish to create a northern powerhouse. 
However, in the Directors’ view the Valuation Office’s approach to the
phasing of the new commercial rating values is going to have the complete
opposite effect.

Panther believes that the phasing of the new business rates will have an
adverse effect on the ability to let some of its vacant properties,
particularly in the north of England, but it intends to find other ways of
improving the ability to let these properties.

Andrew Perloff, Chairman of Panther, stated “If this is the best they can do
on a rates revaluation then I doubt if they could create a profitable hot dog
stall outside of Wembley Stadium on Cup Final Day, even if they issued
themselves the only licence!”

For further information:

                                                                       
 Panther Securities plc:                            Tel: 01707 667 300 
 Andrew Perloff/ Simon Peters                                          
                                                                       
 Allenby Capital Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker)   Tel: 020 3328 5656 
 David Worlidge/ Alex Brearley                                         



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