- Andy Street, Co-Chair of Prosper UK, calls on the Government to rethink business rates and launches a national campaign for reform.
- The campaign opens with a nationwide petition and a platform for business owners to set out what the business rates system is costing them: lost growth, shelved expansion, delayed investment and lower employment.
- Business owners can take part at rethinktherates.uk and help Prosper UK develop proposals for reform ahead of the Budget.
The campaign opens with a nationwide petition and a platform for business owners to set out what the business rates system is costing them: lost growth, shelved expansion, delayed investment and lower employment.
Business owners can take part at rethinktherates.uk by setting out how the current system has held their business back. Prosper UK will use that evidence to develop its own proposals for reform and put them to the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Business ahead of the Budget.
Polling for the CBI in April 2026 revealed that 76% of business owners believe that higher overall business rates suppress investment, with more than half saying that uncertainty about future liabilities undermines their ability to plan long-term investment.
Andy Street, Co-Chair of Prosper UK, said:
“The unfair, outdated and broken business rates system is stalling British growth. It punishes owners for improving their premises, penalises domestic production and taxes around 189,000 small businesses that Parliament already says should not pay.
The whole thing is held together by a series of discounts and allowances that almost nobody understands. It's not just about high streets. Any business with premises pays this, from the factory floor to the office building and it stops entrepreneurs from starting new businesses.
As part of Prosper UK’s work focusing on how growth can be generated, Rethink the Rates wants to hear from businesses and their owners who are at the coalface. We want to know what isn’t working, what’s holding them back and what changes would help them prosper. Whether it is reducing profits, suppressing investment or costing jobs, it's clear that business rates are preventing British business from thriving.
From Cardiff to Edinburgh, Liverpool to Birmingham, the consistent message at our business roundtables is that the current rates system is unfair and a drag on the development of business.
I have seen this from both sides. At John Lewis, business rates were part of the decision on whether to invest in a particular shop, and as Mayor of the West Midlands I saw what they do to businesses and regions trying to grow.
That's why we want to hear from business owners who are living this issue day in, day out. What they tell us will help Prosper UK form the proposals that can make the difference between a revival of British business and decline.”
Back Rethink the Rates
Add your name to the campaign and tell Prosper UK how the business rates system is holding British business back.