British Marine persuades HM Treasury to amend its legislation so that marinas do not miss out on the new RHL lower business rate multipliers
The Challenge
Since 2020 ‘retail, hospitality and leisure’ (RHL) businesses, including marinas and other marine businesses, benefited from rate relief awarded by local authorities under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Whilst the level of relief reduced from its initial 100% to 40% in 2025/26 it was still hugely important for the recipients.
In 2025 major reforms to the business rate system was announced by the Treasury, including replacing the RHL rate relief with new permanent lower multipliers for “qualifying” RHL businesses with rateable values below £500,000. The lower multipliers help calculate rates due from 1 April 2026 and was hailed by the Government as a permanent tax cut worth nearly £900m per annum to assist over 750,000 RHL properties.
Action by British Marine
However, in late 2025, British Marine was shocked to discover the Treasury had slipped through secondary legislation with virtually no scrutiny nor consultation which erroneously excluded, amongst others, marinas and potentially some passenger boat businesses, from qualifying for the lower multipliers.
On discovering this we made the strongest possible representations to the Treasury and sought support from our contacts in the Department for Business & Trade, as well as in the Department for Culture Media & Support, urging them to influence the Treasury and support our call for legislation (Statutory Instrument 2025/1093) to be amended. We made clear that many of our members are a key part of the leisure industry. We also highlighted the fact many leisure marine businesses, including marinas, meet the ‘Qualifying Proposes’ defined in the Statutory Instrument (SI) for the lower multipliers and it was therefore incorrect to list marinas in that SI as an example of excluded hereditaments.
In addition to our Chief Executive’s direct representations to the lead Minister, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, our Public Affairs Manager began discussions with government officials informing them that many of our members had been in receipt of RHL relief and were relying on benefiting from the new lower multipliers. Noting that Stephen Morgan, MP for Southsea and a junior whip in the Treasury, had signed off the SI, our Public Affairs Manager engaged support from Premier Marinas which own Southsea Marina. Premier contacted Mr Morgan reiterating our call to have the legislation amended before coming into effect on 1 April 2026.
What happened next
The day Parliament returned from the Christmas Recess the Treasury contacted British Marine informing us it would amend the legislation by removing marinas from the list of excluded hereditaments. This means that leisure marinas with a rateable values below £500,000 will be eligible for the lower business rate multipliers. The Treasury also reassured us that riverboats providing leisure / recreational services with rateable values below £500,000 will also qualify for the lower multipliers.
From the Exchequer Secretary’s response to our Chief Executive it was clear the Treasury had not fully understood our industry nor the fact marinas had been in receipt of RHL rate relief. The Minister graciously thanked our Chief Executive for drawing these matters to his attention and apologised for the concern caused. In addition to amending the legislation, the Treasury has agreed to update its online guidance. Securing this important amendment will result in a significant financial saving for many marinas.
But don’t just take our word for it!
The impact of the government listening to British Marine and agreeing to reclassify marina businesses as qualifying RHL business will have profound benefits for the sector. It will enable the marina sector and companies like Aquavista to continue investing in its infrastructure and inspiring growth in the sector by improving its offerings to customers. We are delighted by British Marine’s quick intervention and the common sense of Ministers to correct the error. Making this legislative amendment will provide crucial help to the wider sector at a critical time when major weather events, higher taxation, and financial challenges for customers appear ever present.
Steve di Polo (speaking on 9 January) CEO at Aquavista Watersides Ltd, UK’s largest marine group
According to Paul Nash, Head of Rating at Lambert Smith Hampton, the annual saving for marinas qualifying for the RHL lower multipliers in England alone is estimated to be in the region of £1.42m. Note this is purely an estimate based on the 5p discount announced in the 2025 Budget and does not take account of other reliefs marinas may benefit from.
For further information please contact Joanna Richardson, External Relations Manager: jrichardson@britishmarine.co.uk
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