North West · 2025-26
Business Rates in Sefton
Businesses in Sefton paid £71.1m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Sefton
Share of £21.2m total relief, 2025-26.
Sefton at a glance
Sefton granted £21.2m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £10.6m in Small Business Rate Relief and £4.1m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £5.8m went to charity relief and £0.3m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Sefton has an estimated 7,810 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Sefton ranks 80 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 Sefton rose by 4.3% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Sefton?
Sefton's local authority collected £71.1m 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 Sefton?
Sefton granted £21.2m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £10.6m in Small Business Rate Relief, £4.1m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £5.8m in charity relief, and £0.3m 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.
Sefton compared with the North West and England
- Average rateable value
- £23,159£2,170 below the North West average (£25,329)£10,831 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Retail property, 33.4%11.0 percentage points above its 22.4% share in the North West
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +15.4%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
At £23,159, Sefton's average rateable value ranks 214th of 296 councils in England and 15th of 35 in the North West. Retail property also accounts for the most properties in Sefton, at 37.8% of its rateable properties.
Shops and other retail property account for 37.8% of Sefton's rateable properties and 33.4% of its value, higher than the 25.1% and 22.4% across the North West. High-value property is limited in Sefton: around 40 properties were rated at £500,000 or more at March 2026, rising to around 50 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Only 6 of the 34 other councils in the North West saw a weaker change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation than Sefton's +15.4%. Industrial property saw the biggest rise in Sefton: total rateable value up 31.9% between the 2023 and 2026 lists, against +24.7% for industrial property across the North West. Even the weakest sector in Sefton, office property, rose 2.6% in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation, against +14.6% for office property across the North West.
Reliefs
Total relief granted in Sefton equalled 21.6% of gross rates payable in 2025-26, close to the 21.2% across English councils taken together. Of the four main reliefs, Small Business Rate Relief accounted for the most in Sefton: 50.2% of the total, above the England figure of 28.0%.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Sefton 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 Sefton's £23,159.
- Business rates in Preston£23,466 average rateable value, £307 higher than Sefton
- Business rates in Wirral£22,714 average rateable value, £445 lower than Sefton
- Business rates in Bolton£22,688 average rateable value, £471 lower than Sefton
- Business rates in Salford£24,727 average rateable value, £1,568 higher than Sefton
- Business rates in Cheshire East UA£25,164 average rateable value, £2,005 higher than Sefton
- Business rates in West Lancashire£26,660 average rateable value, £3,501 higher than Sefton
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Sefton
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