Apprentice Review

One of Manchester’s leading Apprenticeship providers has instructed TAG to review its’ relocation options as the organization nears the expiry of its lease at St James’s Buildings on Oxford Road.

The Apprentice Academy works to match up employers in Greater Manchester with students and young adults to help secure Manchester’s future talent. It is a high quality provider of apprenticeships to the business community and specialises in digital marketing and social media training which is one of the fastest growing employment sectors.

The company supports employers to develop well rounded apprentices who add significant value. Its in-house trainers provide training for the Apprentices throughout their course, ensuring they are working to their full potential. The organisation also has training available for managers and employers, to help sponsors get the most out of their Apprentice.

The Apprentice Academy has grown consistently over the last 3 years has recently won some new funding which will help the business to significantly grow turnover over the next 18 months. The company works with over 170 companies currently and benefits from over 50% repeat business.  Growth is expected to achieve a turnover of £2.5 million by 31st July 2016.

The Apprentice Academy: www.theapprenticeacademy.co.uk

Landlord’s Dilapidations Claim Halved

Tenant Advisory Group has today successfully concluded a lengthy dilapidations negotiation on behalf of a Manchester based legal services firm, Towns Needham. The settlement with landlord Aviva was at 50% less than the original claim submitted by their property consultants, Savills.

Dilapidations and Re-instatement claims remain a fertile area of dispute between Landlords and Tenants. According to TAG’s senior Building Consultant, John Crowley, the risks associated with commercial property are often underestimated by tenants; “entering into a lease on a commercial property is a major undertaking and tenants need to do everything they can to protect themselves against future claims. Simple measures such as recording the handover condition at the start of the lease and ensuring that any alterations they make during the course of the lease are fully documented, are vital if you want to minimise your exit costs. All too often, information is missing or poorly recorded. That is when the problems start and the costs start to escalate.”

For more information on TAG’s building services please contact John Crowley on 0161 235 6430.

Business Rates Multiplier Confirmed

Firstly, apologies to any Scottish or Welsh readers as the following does not apply to them. Having said that, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly usually follow changes to the rating system in England, so it is probably still worth you reading on.

National Non-Domestic Rate or “Rates in the Pound”

The government has now confirmed that the English rates in the £ for 2014-15, will be £0.482 for all properties with a Rateable Value (‘RV’) of £18,000 or over (£25,000 in Greater London); and £0.471 for all properties with RV’s below £18,000 or £25,000, as above.

TAG’s Rating expert Michael Blank explains, “These figures do, of course, represent 2% increases over those for the current rate year of 2013-14. For the overwhelming majority of ratepayers therefore, their rates bill for 2014-15 (i.e. from 1st April 2014), will be 2% higher than this year’s (2013-14). The exceptions being those whose 2014-15 rates bills are still affected by “Transition”.

For more information please e-mail: info@tenantag.co.uk

Relief at last, or is it?

Flooding business rate relief.

You may have heard the Prime Minister announce during a recent visit to some of the areas hardest hit by the current floods, that rates relief would be granted, saying, on 12th February, that “all affected businesses will get 100% business rate relief for three months and will also get an extra three months to pay the business taxes they owe to HMRC as they get back on their feet.”

The same “Business Rates Information Letter” (BRIL) that was recently issued by DCLG, that confirmed the 2014-15 English rates in the £, was also headed “Flooding business rate relief”. Sadly however, this is all that the letter had to say on the subject: “The Prime Minister has announced a new temporary relief for businesses affected by flooding. The measure will be delivered through local discount powers, with central government meeting the costs. We will be publishing guidance to local authorities very soon, to help councils deliver support for affected businesses.” In other words, watch this space!

If your business has been adversely affected by the recent flooding, please email us to that effect and our Rating expert Michael Blank will then forward to you, as soon as we receive it from DCLG, details of the relief scheme. Otherwise, we strongly recommend those who have been affected, to take as many (digital) photos as possible, of the damage caused to your premises and business by the flooding, and to make careful notes of any other measurable damage etc caused to your business/your business premises by the floods.

The more evidence you have to prove your entitlement to this relief the better off you will be even though it may take your council some time to process such claims.

For more information please e-mail: info@tenantag.co.uk