The Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Scheme ended on 31st March 2026.
From 1st April 2026 properties that meet the criteria for Retail, Hospitality & Leisure (RHL) will receive a reduction in their Business Rates by way of a RHL multiplier.
Further details on multipliers and how your Business Rates are calculated can be found Here
The Council has determined, in accordance with government guidance, businesses may qualify for the lower multipliers if they fall into one of the following categories:
- shop
- restaurant, café, bar, or pub
- cinema or music venue
- hospitality or leisure business - for example, a gym, a spa, a casino, or a hotel
To find details on which properties will qualify for the RHL multipliers, please click Here
Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Relief prior to 1st April 2026
If you have a liability for Business Rates prior to 1st April 2026 you may still qualify for RHL relief. Relief can be backdated to 1st April 2023 if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Full details of eligibility can be found in the RHL guidance.
Businesses will not be required to apply for Retail, Hospitality & Leisure relief as it will be applied automatically. However, if having read the guidance in the link above, you think your business is eligible but the relief has not been included on your bill, you can request your property be considered for relief by e-mailing the Business Rates team at business.rates@sefton.gov.uk
Cash Caps
For RHL relief that is applied prior to 1st April 2026, there will be a cap on the cash value of relief that a business can receive. Businesses will be eligible to receive relief on more than one property. However, the total cash value of that relief must not exceed £110,000 across all of their properties in England.
Where a business has a qualifying connection with another business, then those businesses will be considered as one business ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps.
A business shall be treated as having a qualifying connection with another where both ratepayers are companies, and
- one is a subsidiary of the other, or
- both are subsidiaries of the same company; or
- where only business is a company, the other business (the “second ratepayer”) has such an interest in that company as would, if the second ratepayer were a company, result in its being the holding company of the other.
In those cases where it is clear to the Council that the ratepayer is likely to breach the cash caps, then the Council will automatically withhold the discount. In other cases, the Council will include the discount in bills and ask the ratepayers, on a self-assessment basis, to inform the authority if they are in breach of the cash caps.
Please note that Cash Caps does not apply to the new RHL multipliers from 1st April 2026
For RHL relief that is awarded prior to 1st April 2026, relief may be subject to Subsidy Control. For mor information please go to the Business Rates Subsidy Control webpage.