South West · 2025-26
Business Rates in Torbay UA
Businesses in Torbay UA paid £32.1m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
Are you paying too much in Torbay UA?
Check your rateable value and relief eligibility in about 60 seconds. Free, no sign-up.
Relief granted in Torbay UA
Share of £18.1m total relief, 2025-26.
Torbay UA at a glance
Torbay UA granted £18.1m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £6.9m in Small Business Rate Relief and £3.9m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.7m went to charity relief and £1.5m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Torbay UA has an estimated 4,040 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Torbay UA ranks 60 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 Torbay UA fell by 0.3% — if your assessment didn't fall in line, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Torbay UA?
Torbay UA's local authority collected £32.1m 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 Torbay UA?
Torbay UA granted £18.1m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £6.9m in Small Business Rate Relief, £3.9m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.7m 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.
Torbay UA compared with the South West and England
- Average rateable value
- £18,051£5,893 below the South West average (£23,944)£15,939 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 44.3%10.3 percentage points above its 34.0% share in the South West
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +13.4%South West: +17.7%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
Torbay UA comes 266th of 296 English councils on average rateable value (£18,051) and 16th of 27 in the South West. The same sector leads on numbers too: 42.4% of Torbay UA's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail makes up 31.0% of Torbay UA's rateable properties and 33.1% of its rateable value, both above the 20.1% and 22.7% across the South West. At March 2026, around 10 of Torbay UA's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 20 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Torbay UA's +13.4% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was weaker than in 24 of the 26 other councils in the South West. The sharpest increase in Torbay UA was in office property, where total rateable value rose 34.7% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +18.7% for office property across the South West. Retail property had the weakest result in Torbay UA, with total rateable value down 0.3% at the 2026 revaluation, against +7.7% for retail property across the South West.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Torbay UA came to 34.7% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Torbay UA, at 38.1% of total relief, above 28.0% 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 Torbay UA compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in South West, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the South West
Other South West councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Torbay UA's £18,051.
- Business rates in Dorset UA£17,498 average rateable value, £553 lower than Torbay UA
- Business rates in Cotswold£18,839 average rateable value, £788 higher than Torbay UA
- Business rates in Teignbridge£17,045 average rateable value, £1,006 lower than Torbay UA
- Business rates in East Devon£16,334 average rateable value, £1,717 lower than Torbay UA
- Business rates in Mid Devon£15,311 average rateable value, £2,740 lower than Torbay UA
- Business rates in Somerset£21,868 average rateable value, £3,817 higher than Torbay UA
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Torbay
By email.