London · 2025-26
Business Rates in Lewisham
Businesses in Lewisham paid £63.5m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Lewisham
Share of £25.0m total relief, 2025-26.
Lewisham at a glance
Lewisham granted £25.0m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £8.1m in Small Business Rate Relief and £4.5m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £10.0m went to charity relief and £1.9m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Lewisham has an estimated 9,600 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Lewisham ranks 75 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 Lewisham rose by 10.4% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Lewisham?
Lewisham's local authority collected £63.5m 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 Lewisham?
Lewisham granted £25.0m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £8.1m in Small Business Rate Relief, £4.5m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £10.0m in charity relief, and £1.9m 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.
Lewisham compared with London and England
- Average rateable value
- £27,414£37,507 below the London average (£64,921)£6,576 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 36.0%12.2 percentage points above its 23.8% share in London
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +16.6%London: +22.5%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
On average rateable value, Lewisham sits 157th among England's 296 councils at £27,414, which is 31st of 33 in London. The largest group of Lewisham's rateable properties is retail property (42.9%), yet other commercial property holds the largest share of value (36.0%).
Retail makes up 42.9% of Lewisham's rateable properties and 34.8% of its rateable value, both above the 28.9% and 19.7% across London. At March 2026, around 30 of Lewisham's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 40 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Lewisham's +16.6% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in London: stronger than in 12 of the 32 other councils and weaker than in 20. The sharpest increase in Lewisham was in industrial property, where total rateable value rose 29.1% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +24.4% for industrial property across London. No sector fell in Lewisham: retail property moved least, up 10.4% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +13.6% for retail property across London.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Lewisham came to 27.4% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Lewisham, at 39.9% of total relief, above 29.7% 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 Lewisham compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in London, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in London
Other London councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Lewisham's £27,414.
- Business rates in Waltham Forest£27,768 average rateable value, £354 higher than Lewisham
- Business rates in Harrow£25,848 average rateable value, £1,566 lower than Lewisham
- Business rates in Haringey£29,016 average rateable value, £1,602 higher than Lewisham
- Business rates in Redbridge£25,550 average rateable value, £1,864 lower than Lewisham
- Business rates in Bromley£32,748 average rateable value, £5,334 higher than Lewisham
- Business rates in Havering£36,157 average rateable value, £8,743 higher than Lewisham
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Lewisham
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