State of Business Rates in England 2026 · 45 councils
Business rates in East of England
The East of England has an average business rateable value of £32,135 at March 2026 across 45 councils and over 214,000 rateable properties — just below the England average of £33,990. Total commercial rateable value across the region stands at £6.88 billion.
Cambridge dominates the region's top of the table, with an average business rateable value of £83,087 — the sixth-highest of any English council, driven by the city's life-sciences and knowledge-economy office and lab space. Thurrock, benefiting from its Dartford Crossing and Thames-side logistics corridor, follows at £76,302, and Welwyn Hatfield at £61,945. At the other end, Norfolk and Essex coastal authorities dominate: Great Yarmouth (£16,120), North Norfolk (£11,418) and Tendring (£10,992) sit among the lowest average commercial property values in England, reflecting seaside and rural economies with a high volume of small, low-value premises.
The 2026 revaluation lifted the East of England's total rateable value by 18.3% from the 2023 list to the 2026 list, below the 19.6% for England and the fourth-largest regional rise of nine. Hillingdon, Crawley and Dover were the biggest individual council gainers nationally, and Uttlesford, in this region, was fourth, up 59.7%.
The region holds 1,590 properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more at March 2026 — 9.4% of the national total, a modest share relative to its 15.2% of England's councils.
For businesses in the East of England, the regional picture splits sharply between the M11/A1(M) logistics corridor — where values rose fastest at the revaluation — and the Norfolk and Suffolk coast, where average values remain among the lowest in the country.
Sector mix
£2.27 billion (32.9%) of the region's rateable value at March 2026 sits in other commercial uses, £2.38 billion (34.6%) in industrial property, £1.29 billion (18.7%) in retail, and just £0.95 billion (13.7%) in offices — well below the England-wide office share of 23.0%.
At the 2026 revaluation other commercial uses rose 22.9%, industrial property 20.2% and offices 13.2%, each by less than England's 28.5%, 21.4% and 14.6% respectively, while retail, up 9.8%, was in line with England's 10.0%.
All 45 councils in East of England
| Council | Average rateable value, March 2026Average RV | Change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluationChange | Rank in EnglandRank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | £83,087 | +14.9% | 6 of 296 |
| Thurrock UA | £76,302 | +19.3% | 9 of 296 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | £61,945 | +14.5% | 15 of 296 |
| Three Rivers | £56,444 | +4.9% | 23 of 296 |
| Stevenage | £54,699 | +16.6% | 25 of 296 |
| Hertsmere | £54,139 | +12.1% | 26 of 296 |
| Watford | £53,441 | +21.7% | 27 of 296 |
| South Cambridgeshire | £50,659 | +19.6% | 34 of 296 |
| Harlow | £48,362 | +17.1% | 39 of 296 |
| Broxbourne | £44,397 | +20.8% | 49 of 296 |
| Peterborough UA | £43,352 | +14.0% | 53 of 296 |
| Dacorum | £43,226 | +15.4% | 54 of 296 |
| St Albans | £42,831 | +20.1% | 57 of 296 |
| Central Bedfordshire UA | £41,853 | +16.9% | 61 of 296 |
| Basildon | £41,477 | +18.3% | 63 of 296 |
| Chelmsford | £39,030 | +13.8% | 73 of 296 |
| Bedford UA | £37,938 | +16.5% | 81 of 296 |
| Uttlesford | £36,258 | +59.7% | 88 of 296 |
| Luton UA | £33,300 | +44.3% | 108 of 296 |
| West Suffolk | £31,663 | +18.3% | 121 of 296 |
| Huntingdonshire | £30,786 | +16.1% | 127 of 296 |
| Ipswich | £30,559 | +12.8% | 129 of 296 |
| Brentwood | £29,002 | +13.0% | 142 of 296 |
| Colchester | £28,342 | +16.2% | 146 of 296 |
| East Hertfordshire | £27,244 | +18.1% | 160 of 296 |
| Norwich | £27,092 | +13.6% | 163 of 296 |
| East Cambridgeshire | £26,894 | +14.4% | 165 of 296 |
| Braintree | £26,598 | +16.3% | 172 of 296 |
| Mid Suffolk | £26,226 | +14.8% | 177 of 296 |
| Fenland | £24,510 | +12.9% | 193 of 296 |
| North Hertfordshire | £24,403 | +25.2% | 194 of 296 |
| Epping Forest | £23,858 | +17.3% | 206 of 296 |
| Castle Point | £22,902 | +13.8% | 216 of 296 |
| Broadland | £22,799 | +15.4% | 217 of 296 |
| Breckland | £22,366 | +19.3% | 225 of 296 |
| Southend-on-Sea UA | £21,697 | +13.8% | 233 of 296 |
| South Norfolk | £20,192 | +15.6% | 245 of 296 |
| East Suffolk | £20,161 | +23.5% | 246 of 296 |
| Rochford | £19,899 | +21.1% | 247 of 296 |
| Babergh | £19,797 | +16.6% | 248 of 296 |
| King's Lynn & West Norfolk | £19,764 | +17.1% | 249 of 296 |
| Maldon | £18,280 | +19.7% | 263 of 296 |
| Great Yarmouth | £16,120 | +15.0% | 279 of 296 |
| North Norfolk | £11,418 | +17.4% | 293 of 296 |
| Tendring | £10,992 | +16.3% | 295 of 296 |
Averages are means: total rateable value divided by the number of properties, so a small number of very high-value properties can pull them up. Ranks are by average rateable value.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data: 'Non-domestic rating: stock of properties, March 2026' and 'Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation (compiled list)' — Open Government Licence v3.0
Other regions
- London£64,921
- South East£35,296
- East Midlands£28,602
- West Midlands£28,222
- North West£25,329
- Yorkshire and The Humber£24,643
- North East£24,511
- South West£23,944
Read the national report: State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Latest: Business rates at the 2026 revaluation: what the official figures show (17 October 2026)
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