Case Study: Maximising Business Rates Revenue for Brent Council

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Overview

Brent Council partnered with Liberata to conduct a Business Rates Review (BRR) to identify undervalued, misclassified and missing business properties. By using a combination of data analytics and physical inspections, the project successfully increased the council’s Rateable Value (RV). It boosted revenue, ensuring businesses were taxed fairly while securing additional funds for essential local services.

The challenge

Brent Council suspected some commercial properties within the borough were either missing from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) list or incorrectly valued, leading to lost Business Rates revenue. The council wanted a cost-effective solution that could:

  • Identify undervalued and unrated business properties
  • Recover lost revenue without imposing financial risk
  • Ensure a fair and equitable taxation system for local businesses

The solution

Liberata deployed its Business Rates Review service, a fully managed, zero-risk model that combines advanced data analysis with physical inspections. The key steps included:

  • Comprehensive data analysis to flag potentially undervalued, misclassified and unrated business properties
  • On-site inspections to validate property changes and confirm Rateable Value adjustments
  • Liaison with the VOA to ensure accurate and timely updates to the ratings list

Liberata’s expertise in both desk-based assessments and physical property inspections delivered thorough and accurate results, setting it apart from the usual assessments.

Project delivery

The project was carried out in collaboration with Brent Council and the VOA, following a structured approach:

  • Initial assessment: Data analysis to identify properties requiring further investigation
  • Field inspections: Physical property visits to validate suspected changes
  • VOA engagement: Submission of findings for official Rateable Value adjustments
  • Results analysis: Ongoing tracking of VOA confirmations and financial impact reporting

The results

Brent Council’s partnership with Liberata increased Business Rates revenue, ensuring fair taxation and providing much-needed funds to support local services. The project also strengthened the council’s financial resilience and improved transparency in Business Rates assessments.

The Business Rates Review delivered significant financial and property accuracy results:

£1,850,000
New
Rateable Value identified
£290,000
Rateable Value
pending VOA confirmation
125
Successful property
updates
10
Newly
identified properties
107
Altered or improved properties
8
Reconstituted or restructure properties

This initiative’s success was shortlisted for the 2024 IRRV Excellence in Partnership Award, highlighting the collaboration’s positive impact.

“Working in partnership with Liberata has been very helpful in increasing our Business Rates revenue. Their expert-led, zero-risk approach has allowed us to uncover undervalued and misclassified properties, ensuring a fair taxation for local businesses. The results show a significant additional revenue identified and a transparent process. We value our ongoing collaboration with Liberata and look forward to continuing to maximise our financial potential through this partnership.”

Jasvanti Varsani

Revenues & Debt Service Manager

Why Brent Council chose Liberata

Brent Council has used Liberata’s Business Rates Review service for four consecutive years. This service helps them uncover substantial lost revenue while reinforcing fair and transparent taxation for local businesses. This successful partnership demonstrates the value of expert-led, risk-free Business Rates solutions for councils looking to maximise their financial potential.

Brent Council selected Liberata’s Business Rates Review for its:

  • Zero-risk, outcome-based model – no upfront costs, payment only upon confirmed results
  • Combination of data-driven insights and physical inspections, ensuring accuracy
  • Proven track record in Business Rates revenue recovery
  • Strong working relationships with local authorities and the VOA

Find out how much additional revenue your council could unlock.

Request a Business Rates revenue estimate today

See how Liberata can help your organisation.

Contact Us
As a Council we are focused on ensuring that the services delivered are both sustainable and of the highest quality. We are delighted to be working with Liberata to help deliver these services on behalf of our residents and businesses. Liberata stood out with its ability to drive transformational change and improve customer access and digital services.
Richard Baker
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Borough of Broxbourne
Liberata is the ideal delivery partner to help us achieve our aims, whilst ensuring we can drive down processing times and improve the service for our customers. Council tax and business rates collection will improve, ensuring that we have the funds to deliver the vital services that have a positive impact on residents’ lives. We look forward to working closely in partnership with Liberata to help achieve our aims
Rebecca Keene
Broxbourne Borough Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
Eastleigh Borough Council has worked with Liberata for a number of years who undertake the council's empty home reviews, and I must say, their service exceeded all expectations. From start to finish, they demonstrated professionalism, efficiency, and a genuine commitment to addressing this critical issue in our community. Thanks to Liberata, the council has been able to maximise our empty home bonus year on year. This positive impact on our community cannot be overstated.
Kerrie Thomas
Eastleigh Borough Council
Leicester City Council
The RV Finder service from Liberata has really helped us ensure that our data is as accurate as possible and, when the VOA has processed the outstanding cases, I fully expect to see more than £1,000,000 of additional RV. The “risk and reward” model works well and the Council only has to pay for their success and the service is something that we will use on a regular basis.
Steve King
Leicester City Council
Liberata has been empowered to create a seamless integration with technology to digitally transform the Revenues and Benefits service whilst trying to protect local jobs. The joint strategy has helped to deliver innovative solutions that have exceeded expectations, whilst providing savings to the authority. This surge in digital engagement has helped deliver strong year one outturn with electronic billing and the technology will enable us to show improvements in the benefits speed of processing and in Council Tax processing of moves, discounts and exemptions.
Andy Stevens
Swindon Borough Council
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