South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Waverley
Businesses in Waverley paid £40.7m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
Are you paying too much in Waverley?
Check your rateable value and relief eligibility in about 60 seconds. Free, no sign-up.
Relief granted in Waverley
Share of £15.5m total relief, 2025-26.
Waverley at a glance
Waverley granted £15.5m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £4.4m in Small Business Rate Relief and £3.5m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £5.2m went to charity relief and £1.9m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Waverley has an estimated 7,535 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Waverley ranks 288 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 Waverley rose by 12.8% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Waverley?
Waverley's local authority collected £40.7m 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 Waverley?
Waverley granted £15.5m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £4.4m in Small Business Rate Relief, £3.5m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £5.2m 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.
Waverley compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £26,956£8,340 below the South East average (£35,296)£7,034 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 38.0%5.5 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +19.0%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
Waverley comes 164th of 296 English councils on average rateable value (£26,956) and 44th of 64 in the South East. Other commercial property also accounts for the most properties in Waverley, at 30.1% of its rateable properties.
Shops and other retail property account for 24.1% of Waverley's rateable properties and 26.1% of its value, higher than the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. High-value property is limited in Waverley: 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 12 of the 63 other councils in the South East saw a stronger change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation than Waverley's +19.0%. Industrial property saw the biggest rise in Waverley: total rateable value up 29.4% between the 2023 and 2026 lists, against +19.9% for industrial property across the South East. Even the weakest sector in Waverley, retail property, rose 12.8% in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation, against +10.8% for retail property across the South East.
Reliefs
Total relief granted in Waverley equalled 26.8% of gross rates payable in 2025-26, above the 21.2% across English councils taken together. Of the four main reliefs, charity relief accounted for the most in Waverley: 33.4% of the total, above the England figure of 29.7%.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Waverley 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 Waverley's £26,956.
- Business rates in Ashford£26,782 average rateable value, £174 lower than Waverley
- Business rates in West Oxfordshire£26,770 average rateable value, £186 lower than Waverley
- Business rates in Havant£27,166 average rateable value, £210 higher than Waverley
- Business rates in Brighton & Hove UA£27,771 average rateable value, £815 higher than Waverley
- Business rates in Horsham£26,070 average rateable value, £886 lower than Waverley
- Business rates in Eastbourne£29,043 average rateable value, £2,087 higher than Waverley
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Waverley
By email.