South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Sevenoaks
Businesses in Sevenoaks paid £43.2m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Sevenoaks
Share of £13.2m total relief, 2025-26.
Sevenoaks at a glance
Sevenoaks granted £13.2m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £5.2m in Small Business Rate Relief and £2.4m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £2.7m went to charity relief and £1.5m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Sevenoaks has an estimated 6,640 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Sevenoaks ranks 210 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 industrial property in Sevenoaks rose by 14.1% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Sevenoaks?
Sevenoaks's local authority collected £43.2m 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 Sevenoaks?
Sevenoaks granted £13.2m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £5.2m in Small Business Rate Relief, £2.4m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £2.7m in charity relief, and £1.5m 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.
Sevenoaks compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £25,287£10,009 below the South East average (£35,296)£8,703 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 30.9%in line with its 30.0% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +12.5%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 £25,287, Sevenoaks's average rateable value ranks 186th of 296 councils in England and 49th of 64 in the South East. Industrial property also accounts for the most properties in Sevenoaks, at 34.7% of its rateable properties.
In Sevenoaks, retail is 18.8% of rateable properties and 21.9% of rateable value; across the South East the figures are 22.5% and 20.7%. High-value property is limited in Sevenoaks: around 20 properties were rated at £500,000 or more at March 2026, unchanged at around 20 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Only 3 of the 63 other councils in the South East saw a weaker change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation than Sevenoaks's +12.5%. Other commercial property saw the biggest rise in Sevenoaks: total rateable value up 17.1% between the 2023 and 2026 lists, against +26.7% for other commercial property across the South East. Even the weakest sector in Sevenoaks, office property, rose 6.5% in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation, against +16.8% for office property across the South East.
Reliefs
Total relief granted in Sevenoaks equalled 22.7% of gross rates payable in 2025-26, above the 21.2% across English councils taken together. Of the four main reliefs, Small Business Rate Relief accounted for the most in Sevenoaks: 39.8% 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 Sevenoaks 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 Sevenoaks's £25,287.
- Business rates in Horsham£26,070 average rateable value, £783 higher than Sevenoaks
- Business rates in Gosport£24,369 average rateable value, £918 lower than Sevenoaks
- Business rates in New Forest£26,255 average rateable value, £968 higher than Sevenoaks
- Business rates in Chichester£24,023 average rateable value, £1,264 lower than Sevenoaks
- Business rates in Canterbury£23,956 average rateable value, £1,331 lower than Sevenoaks
- Business rates in West Oxfordshire£26,770 average rateable value, £1,483 higher than Sevenoaks
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Sevenoaks
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