State of Business Rates in England 2026 · 27 councils
Business rates in South West
The South West has an average business rateable value of £23,944 at March 2026 — the lowest of any English region — across 27 councils and 233,530 rateable properties, with a total commercial rateable value of £5.59 billion.
South Gloucestershire leads the region at £50,084, followed by Swindon at £49,560 and Exeter at £38,259 — all benefiting from motorway-corridor logistics and distribution property along the M4/M5. At the lower end sit West Devon (£14,343), Torridge (£11,287) — the third-lowest of any English council — and the Isles of Scilly, which has the lowest average business rateable value of any English local authority at just £8,791 — around a quarter of the England average, reflecting the islands' tiny, low-value commercial property base of just 530 properties.
The 2026 revaluation lifted the South West's total rateable value by 17.7%, behind England's 19.6%.
The region holds 1,090 properties valued at £500,000 or more at March 2026, 6.4% of the national total, concentrated in its handful of higher-value logistics councils rather than spread evenly across its many small coastal and rural authorities.
For businesses in the South West, the region combines England's lowest average rateable value with the largest office rise of any region at the revaluation, 18.7%, and the smallest industrial rise, 18.7% — a genuinely distinctive combination among the nine English regions.
Sector mix
The South West's sector mix is dominated by other uses — leisure, tourism, hospitality and agriculture-related property — at 34.0% of total value at March 2026, tied with the North East for the highest share of any region, a reflection of the region's tourism-heavy coastal and rural economy. Industrial follows at 30.8%.
At the 2026 revaluation office values rose 18.7%, the largest office rise of any region and ahead of England's 14.6%, while retail rose 7.7%, behind England's 10.0%. Industrial property rose 18.7%, the smallest industrial rise of any region and behind England's 21.4%, and other uses rose 23.0%, behind England's 28.5%.
All 27 councils in South West
| Council | Average rateable value, March 2026Average RV | Change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluationChange | Rank in EnglandRank |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Gloucestershire UA | £50,084 | +13.2% | 35 of 296 |
| Swindon UA | £49,560 | +12.5% | 36 of 296 |
| Exeter | £38,259 | +13.6% | 78 of 296 |
| Cheltenham | £36,766 | +13.6% | 84 of 296 |
| Bristol UA | £36,157 | +26.8% | 89 of 296 |
| Tewkesbury | £34,265 | +16.2% | 100 of 296 |
| Gloucester | £34,033 | +15.6% | 103 of 296 |
| Plymouth UA | £30,764 | +14.4% | 128 of 296 |
| Bath & North East Somerset UA | £28,839 | +16.8% | 144 of 296 |
| North Somerset UA | £27,577 | +27.1% | 156 of 296 |
| Wiltshire UA | £26,799 | +17.6% | 166 of 296 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole UA | £24,826 | +13.6% | 190 of 296 |
| Stroud | £23,824 | +15.9% | 207 of 296 |
| Somerset | £21,868 | +17.3% | 232 of 296 |
| Cotswold | £18,839 | +18.5% | 257 of 296 |
| Torbay UA | £18,051 | +13.4% | 266 of 296 |
| Dorset UA | £17,498 | +16.7% | 271 of 296 |
| Teignbridge | £17,045 | +16.7% | 274 of 296 |
| East Devon | £16,334 | +19.7% | 278 of 296 |
| Mid Devon | £15,311 | +21.8% | 282 of 296 |
| North Devon | £15,284 | +17.1% | 283 of 296 |
| Forest of Dean | £15,157 | +17.6% | 285 of 296 |
| South Hams | £14,795 | +19.2% | 287 of 296 |
| Cornwall UA | £14,496 | +19.4% | 289 of 296 |
| West Devon | £14,343 | +18.1% | 290 of 296 |
| Torridge | £11,287 | +18.8% | 294 of 296 |
| Isles of Scilly | £8,791 | +17.1% | 296 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 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
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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