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The business rates bill hitting London firms will rise to £8.2bn today, raising the prospect that firms could move out of central parts of the capital due to high property costs.

Both the national living wage and business rates increase across the UK today, and, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), London now pays 33.1 per cent of the country’s total business rates bill.

Meanwhile, the national living wage will rise by 4.4 per cent today, from £7.50 per hour to £7.83 per hour.

High property costs are threatening to push some businesses out of the centre of London. A recent survey from the FSB found that 60 per cent of Zone 1 firms fear they will not be able to afford their current premises in five years.

Sue Terpilowski, London policy chair at the FSB, said there should be a major review of the business rates system.

“Many small business in London will see their business rates increase upwards of 20 per cent on 1 April,” she said.

“The high cost of doing business is putting additional pressure on wages and inflation for London businesses. The cost of employing staff generally and the heavy burden of cripplingly high commercial space costs is having additional negative impacts on small businesses.”

Source: City A.M.

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