North West · 2025-26
Business Rates in Manchester
Businesses in Manchester paid £418.4m in net business rates during 2025-26, above the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Manchester
Share of £131.4m total relief, 2025-26.
Manchester at a glance
Manchester granted £131.4m in relief overall, higher than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £23.7m in Small Business Rate Relief and £19.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £47.1m went to charity relief and £32.1m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Manchester has an estimated 23,715 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Manchester ranks 4 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 office property in Manchester rose by 15.0% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Manchester?
Manchester's local authority collected £418.4m 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 Manchester?
Manchester granted £131.4m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £23.7m in Small Business Rate Relief, £19.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £47.1m in charity relief, and £32.1m 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.
Manchester compared with the North West and England
- Average rateable value
- £36,591£11,262 above the North West average (£25,329)£2,601 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 36.2%3.7 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the North West
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +26.0%North West: +19.3%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
Manchester comes 86th of 296 English councils on average rateable value (£36,591) and 4th of 35 in the North West. The same sector leads on numbers too: 31.9% of Manchester's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail makes up 22.1% of Manchester's rateable properties and 18.2% of its rateable value, both below the 25.1% and 22.4% across the North West. At March 2026, Manchester had 240 properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more, 7th most of any English council and 1.4% of England's 16,900, and 320 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Manchester's +26.0% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was stronger than in all 34 other councils in the North West. The sharpest increase in Manchester was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 44.6% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +25.6% for other commercial property across the North West. No sector fell in Manchester: retail property moved least, up 8.7% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +6.2% for retail property across the North West.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Manchester came to 24.5% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Manchester, at 35.8% 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 Manchester compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in North West, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the North West
Other North West councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Manchester's £36,591.
- Business rates in Warrington UA£38,215 average rateable value, £1,624 higher than Manchester
- Business rates in Halton UA£39,065 average rateable value, £2,474 higher than Manchester
- Business rates in Cheshire West and Chester UA£32,859 average rateable value, £3,732 lower than Manchester
- Business rates in Trafford£32,698 average rateable value, £3,893 lower than Manchester
- Business rates in Knowsley£40,696 average rateable value, £4,105 higher than Manchester
- Business rates in St Helens£31,876 average rateable value, £4,715 lower than Manchester
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Manchester
By email.