South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Cherwell
Businesses in Cherwell paid £135.5m in net business rates during 2025-26, above the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Cherwell
Share of £22.2m total relief, 2025-26.
Cherwell at a glance
Cherwell granted £22.2m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £4.7m in Small Business Rate Relief and £6.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.5m went to charity relief and £5.1m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Cherwell has an estimated 7,240 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Cherwell ranks 242 out of 296 local authorities in England on the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is most deprived and 296 is least deprived.
Following the 2026 revaluation, the total rateable value of retail property in Cherwell rose by 31.2% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Cherwell?
Cherwell's local authority collected £135.5m in net business rates income during 2025-26, based on the national multiplier applied to each property's rateable value, less any relief granted.
What reliefs are available in Cherwell?
Cherwell granted £22.2m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £4.7m in Small Business Rate Relief, £6.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.5m in charity relief, and £5.1m in empty property relief.
How do I know if I'm overpaying?
If your rateable value looks high compared to similar properties nearby, or you're not currently receiving relief you may be entitled to, it's worth checking your assessment. Use our free checker to compare your rateable value and see if you may be eligible for a reduction or backdated refund.
Cherwell compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £51,814£16,518 above the South East average (£35,296)£17,824 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 38.4%8.4 percentage points above its 30.0% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +25.1%South East: +19.7%England: +19.6%
Counts and rateable values are from the stock of properties at March 2026, on the 2023 rating list. Changes are from the 2026 revaluation, comparing the 2023 rating list with the 2026 rating list.
Property mix
At £51,814, Cherwell's average rateable value ranks 32nd of 296 councils in England and 11th of 64 in the South East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 29.6% of Cherwell's rateable properties fall in the industrial category.
Retail accounts for 22.5% of Cherwell's rateable properties and 35.2% of its rateable value, compared with 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, Cherwell had 100 properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more, 0.6% of England's 16,900, and 140 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Cherwell's +25.1% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was stronger than in 60 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Cherwell was in retail property, where total rateable value rose 31.2% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +10.8% for retail property across the South East. No sector fell in Cherwell: industrial property moved least, up 19.5% at the 2026 revaluation, in line with the +19.9% across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Cherwell came to 15.0% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Retail, hospitality and leisure relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Cherwell, at 30.1% of total relief, above 18.5% across England.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Cherwell compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in South East, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the South East
Other South East councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Cherwell's £51,814.
- Business rates in Runnymede£52,461 average rateable value, £647 higher than Cherwell
- Business rates in Bracknell Forest UA£52,838 average rateable value, £1,024 higher than Cherwell
- Business rates in Rushmoor£52,940 average rateable value, £1,126 higher than Cherwell
- Business rates in Vale of White Horse£48,396 average rateable value, £3,418 lower than Cherwell
- Business rates in Milton Keynes UA£55,663 average rateable value, £3,849 higher than Cherwell
- Business rates in Guildford£47,383 average rateable value, £4,431 lower than Cherwell
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Cherwell
By email.