Bar, pub and restaurant operators have been ‘implored’ to submit their personal evidence to the Scottish Government’s ongoing review of the non-domestic rates system for licensed hospitality.
This is the Scottish trade’s chance to influence the review’s outcome – and the closing date for evidence submission is 20th April 2026.
The Gill Review, led by full-time Advocate Depute BJ Gill KC, is looking into how hospitality businesses are valued for the purposes of business rates.
The review is seeking ‘evidence, analysis or commentary’ in relation to rent and turnover, as well as evidence showing that the current valuation methodology is not reliable – and any suggestions for an alternative system.
Speaking at the recent Scottish Hospitality Group hustings event Allan Henderson of McGinty’s Group in Aberdeen said: “I would urge you to get in evidence for the Gill Review.
“Don’t just moan yourself. Don’t just shout in front of your shaving mirror or whatever. Get a bit of paper, get it into the Gill Review, make your point.”
Gill has a particular interest in valuation for rating, and has acted for both Assessors and ratepayers, in the Lands Valuation Appeal Court, local valuation appeal committees and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.
In his call for evidence on business rates valuation, he said: “This review represents a crucial reconsideration of how the licensed hospitality sector in Scotland is valued for the purposes of business rates.
“If there are issues with the way that licensed properties are currently valued, this is the sector’s opportunity to demonstrate that.
“The main question for the review is the best way to estimate the annual rental value of a licensed hospitality property. By law, that is the basis for its rateable value,” he explained.
“The work of the review will be entirely driven by the evidence available to us. We will only be able to consider how to estimate a property’s annual rental value if we have reliable evidence of actual market rents.
“I implore anyone interested in the outcome of the review to engage with us. This is your chance to influence its work. Please give us any rental evidence that you have: without it, we won’t be able to reach any meaningful conclusions.”
The Independent Review is seeking evidence, analysis or commentary in relation to the following:
- Any evidence of the actual rent being paid for a property currently operated as a licensed hospitality property in Scotland, including the planning status of the property and the date on which the rent was set (regardless of the planning status or the nature of the operation of the property on that date);
- Any information regarding turnover for a licensed hospitality property for which a rent is paid;
- Any research or evidence showing that the valuation methodology currently used to value licensed hospitality properties does not arrive at a reliable net annual value;
- Any research or evidence showing that there is an unexplained disparity in the valuations of comparable licensed hospitality properties in Scotland or England and Wales;
- Any specific proposals for any alternative methodology for arriving at a reliable net annual value; and any research or evidence to support such an alternative methodology;
- Any evidence specific to the issue of the way under or overperformance is taken into account in valuations, as described for example in section 6.2 of the 2026 Practice Note 1 (Valuation of Licensed Premises)
The closing date for evidence submission is 20 April 2026 – your submissions can be made directly to Mr Gill at either bjgill@amadvocates.co.uk or ndr@gov.scot
