Your background and role
I am the head of the business rates team at Colliers. I started off my career at the Valuation Office in Kidderminster in 1987 covering a large part of the Black Country. After three very enjoyable years I moved into private practice at Gerald Eve in Birmingham where I stayed for ten years reaching the level of partner. I was approached by Gooch Webster to run their Birmingham Office which I did for three years until their acquisition by Colliers in 2003. I was then asked to take over the leadership of the rating team, which in 2005 consisted of ten people – today there are over 140 people in the team.
Unlike many surveyors entering the profession today, specialising in a certain area early in their careers, things were very different in the late 1980s. At the start of my career at the VOA, I carried out a variety of work- from business rates to CPO work, as well as valuation work for the NHS and various local authorities.
During my career I have been fortunate to be involved in buying and valuing significant development sites throughout Birmingham while instructed by the Regional Development Agency. These included Longbridge, LDV at Washwood Heath, BBC Pebble Mill, and Icknield Port Loop amongst others.
What does your average day look like – what sort of matters might you deal with?
The attraction of surveying is that very few days are the same, but a typical day will include checking in with my Senior Rating Leadership Team particularly on issues around finance, recruitment, HR, and strategy. I split my time between our Birmingham and London offices and meeting clients on site.
Given the size of our team and client base, I speak regularly to our external PR consultants as well as our external Public Affairs team. We issue press releases and opinion pieces at least once a fortnight but that can change around a fiscal event or the revaluation cycle.
I meet with clients, typically on a quarterly basis, where I am the executive oversight Director. I also get involved in detailed discussions with the VOA on pre-agreement issues leading up to a revaluation, in various sectors including: retail, the horseracing industry, and football stadia. I regularly meet with the VOA's CEO/Chief Valuer in relation to operational matters, or where there are legal challenges such as judicial review.
Given the profile of business rates, I also meet regularly with politicians and their advisors (of all parties) to attempt to influence or educate on what policy should look like. I also tend to have a speaking engagement or TV/radio interview once a month.
What skills are needed to be a successful rating surveyor?
Fundamentally a rating surveyor must understand how property is relevant to a client’s business. To do so, you need to be able to communicate with clients and understand how their business or industry operates. We are fortunate in that we could be speaking to the financial director of a Premiership Football Club and the next day the property director of a major retailer.
A successful rating surveyor needs an analytical approach to transactions as well as the ability to understand how caselaw and legislation influences valuation. Rating is very well established in the UK, so an appreciation of the history of rating is also an advantage.
A knowledge of all the above, with an ability to negotiate, will set you up to be a successful rating surveyor. Of course, many of these skills will only be honed after experience or being mentored by others in the industry. I would like to think that the Collier’s rating team creates this environment to produce some of the very best young rating surveyors.
Example of an interesting matter you have worked on
From 2012 Colliers became involved at the very start of what became known as the Cardtronics ATM case. It was eventually decided by the Supreme Court in 2020. As part of the VOA’s drive to value everything that wasn’t "nailed down" in a building, we also became involved in acting for the photo booth industry including lockers and children’s rides. The consequence of the Cardtronics ATM Supreme Court decision was significant as it resulted in business rates refunds exceeding eight figures.
Legal action, PR campaigns and engagement with politicians and senior civil servants took place over a number of years, and whilst the outcome was very successful for our clients, it was a shame in many ways that it had got that far.
Current hot topics in the ratings world
There are a number of issues on the unit of assessment in the flex space sector that are taking up our time at present.
The noise around the 2026 Rating Revaluation and the pub debacle means that the valuation approach to pubs, as well as the receipts and expenditure approach more widely, will create points of discussion.
The volume of checks being submitted before the deadline of 31 March is also focussing minds.
As we are only 12 months away from the Antecedent Valuation Date for the 2029 Rating Revaluation, prior discussion will also start in the next few months.
How you came to work with Mishcon
We have a mutual plc client where we are working together on several ongoing legal challenges (including a judicial review application) that address the way in which its business is assessed from a rating perspective. The outcome of such challenges has significant financial and legal implications both for that client, and the sector, of which it is the largest player. Mishcon's forensic approach and wider understanding of the commercial sensitivity provide a formidable team.