State of Business Rates in England 2026 · 64 councils
Business rates in South East
The South East is England's second most valuable region for business property, with an average rateable value of £35,296 at March 2026 across 64 councils and almost 298,000 rateable properties — 4% above the England average of £33,990. Total commercial rateable value across the region stands at £10.51 billion, the second-highest of any English region after London, and 15.4% of the national total.
The region's highest-value councils are dominated by transport and logistics hubs. Slough tops the South East — and is fourth in England — with an average business rateable value of £86,439, driven by its Heathrow-adjacent data-centre and distribution corridor. Crawley, home to Gatwick Airport, follows at £79,172, and Spelthorne at £66,293. At the other end, Wealden (£16,451), the Isle of Wight (£15,066) and Rother (£13,050) — all predominantly rural or coastal — sit at a fraction of the region's leading values, with Rother's average less than a sixth of Slough's.
The 2026 revaluation lifted the South East's total rateable value by 19.7%, in line with England's 19.6%.
The region also holds a significant share of England's highest-value commercial property: 2,520 properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more at March 2026, 14.9% of the national total from 64 of England's 296 councils — a smaller concentration than London's, but still well ahead of every other region outside the capital.
For businesses weighing commercial property costs in the South East, the regional average masks a genuinely wide range: Slough's logistics-driven values sit closer to inner London than to the region's rural south coast. Council-level data is the only way to get a realistic picture of local business rates before committing to a site.
Sector mix
Unlike London, the South East's value is driven by a mix of logistics, retail and industrial property rather than offices. Other commercial uses — leisure, hospitality, healthcare and storage — make up the largest sector share at 32.5%, followed closely by industrial property at 30.0%. Office space, despite the region's reputation as a commuter-belt office market, accounts for just 16.8% of value — well below the England average of 23.0%, and less than half London's 45.4% share.
At the 2026 revaluation, other commercial uses led the region's rise, up 26.7%, followed by industrial property, up 19.9%, offices, up 16.8%, and retail, up 10.8%. Offices rose more than the England figure of 14.6% and retail slightly more than England's 10.0%, while industrial and other commercial uses rose less than England's 21.4% and 28.5%.
All 64 councils in South East
| Council | Average rateable value, March 2026Average RV | Change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluationChange | Rank in EnglandRank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slough UA | £86,439 | +16.9% | 4 of 296 |
| Crawley | £79,172 | +85.8% | 7 of 296 |
| Spelthorne | £66,293 | +4.9% | 10 of 296 |
| Oxford | £63,533 | +22.3% | 14 of 296 |
| Dartford | £60,992 | +14.1% | 17 of 296 |
| Reading UA | £59,292 | +9.6% | 18 of 296 |
| Milton Keynes UA | £55,663 | +22.4% | 24 of 296 |
| Rushmoor | £52,940 | +13.3% | 28 of 296 |
| Bracknell Forest UA | £52,838 | +14.8% | 29 of 296 |
| Runnymede | £52,461 | +15.1% | 30 of 296 |
| Cherwell | £51,814 | +25.1% | 32 of 296 |
| Vale of White Horse | £48,396 | +25.6% | 38 of 296 |
| Guildford | £47,383 | +14.0% | 41 of 296 |
| Eastleigh | £46,585 | +18.9% | 42 of 296 |
| Wokingham UA | £46,445 | +12.6% | 43 of 296 |
| Tonbridge & Malling | £46,025 | +13.2% | 45 of 296 |
| Woking | £44,702 | +18.6% | 47 of 296 |
| Basingstoke & Deane | £43,429 | +11.6% | 52 of 296 |
| Windsor & Maidenhead UA | £41,709 | +22.3% | 62 of 296 |
| Elmbridge | £41,032 | +18.9% | 65 of 296 |
| West Berkshire UA | £39,520 | +13.6% | 69 of 296 |
| Southampton UA | £39,189 | +16.6% | 71 of 296 |
| Medway UA | £38,989 | +21.5% | 74 of 296 |
| Reigate & Banstead | £37,710 | +16.9% | 82 of 296 |
| Epsom & Ewell | £35,956 | +16.2% | 91 of 296 |
| Hart | £35,179 | +15.9% | 94 of 296 |
| Test Valley | £34,461 | +17.9% | 97 of 296 |
| Swale | £34,409 | +17.4% | 98 of 296 |
| Buckinghamshire UA | £34,402 | +18.3% | 99 of 296 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £34,197 | +13.0% | 101 of 296 |
| Fareham | £34,183 | +16.1% | 102 of 296 |
| Portsmouth UA | £33,850 | +15.9% | 105 of 296 |
| Mole Valley | £33,505 | +14.0% | 107 of 296 |
| Gravesham | £32,572 | +16.3% | 114 of 296 |
| Winchester | £32,555 | +20.1% | 115 of 296 |
| Surrey Heath | £31,808 | +18.6% | 118 of 296 |
| Mid Sussex | £31,553 | +15.3% | 123 of 296 |
| Maidstone | £31,473 | +14.7% | 125 of 296 |
| Dover | £30,442 | +75.9% | 131 of 296 |
| South Oxfordshire | £30,275 | +17.6% | 132 of 296 |
| Eastbourne | £29,043 | +13.4% | 140 of 296 |
| Brighton & Hove UA | £27,771 | +17.2% | 152 of 296 |
| Havant | £27,166 | +16.9% | 162 of 296 |
| Waverley | £26,956 | +19.0% | 164 of 296 |
| Ashford | £26,782 | +23.2% | 167 of 296 |
| West Oxfordshire | £26,770 | +19.2% | 168 of 296 |
| New Forest | £26,255 | +17.4% | 175 of 296 |
| Horsham | £26,070 | +13.6% | 178 of 296 |
| Sevenoaks | £25,287 | +12.5% | 186 of 296 |
| Gosport | £24,369 | +15.4% | 197 of 296 |
| Chichester | £24,023 | +13.6% | 203 of 296 |
| Canterbury | £23,956 | +15.8% | 204 of 296 |
| Worthing | £23,530 | +17.6% | 209 of 296 |
| East Hampshire | £23,463 | +17.6% | 211 of 296 |
| Adur | £23,182 | +17.1% | 213 of 296 |
| Tandridge | £22,256 | +18.4% | 229 of 296 |
| Lewes | £21,487 | +19.2% | 234 of 296 |
| Arun | £21,445 | +18.3% | 236 of 296 |
| Folkestone & Hythe | £19,388 | +18.2% | 252 of 296 |
| Thanet | £18,862 | +17.0% | 256 of 296 |
| Hastings | £17,861 | +17.3% | 268 of 296 |
| Wealden | £16,451 | +17.0% | 277 of 296 |
| Isle of Wight Council UA | £15,066 | +17.3% | 286 of 296 |
| Rother | £13,050 | +18.2% | 291 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
- East of England£32,135
- 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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