In the run up to the election the Labour Government promised major reform to Business Rates. Today’s budget was seen as the first opportunity to start delivering on the promised reforms. These reforms have been presented as a way to level the playing field, particularly for the high street, who are often the biggest critic of the current business rates system.

Peter Heelis joins as graduate surveyor following completion of a Land Management degree at the University of Reading. Peter will split his time between the Investor & Developer and Occupier advisory teams and will work closely with the four Co-Founders, Henry Edwardes and Max Tann as he trains towards his APC.

Sam Walters, Co-Founder, say “Peter has been with us for four weeks and has hugely impressed already with his positive attitude and willingness to get stuck into any task thrown at him. Peter has inspected a number of office and industrial properties in London and the South East and is already a valuable member of the team. The best grounding in this industry comes through “doing” on the job training, supported by senior colleagues and at ForeView we are committed to giving opportunities to the next generation of talent as our business grows. We’ll be posting further graduate and placement opportunities over the coming months. Keep an eye on our website and social media accounts for more details.”

ForeView are also delighted to welcome Paul Levy and Kim Smith into their business development team. Paul and Kim will work closely with Ben Nelson and Philip Legg in assisting with the growth of the occupier client base. 

Ben Nelson, Co-Founder says “Paul and Kim both bring with them vast experience from the industry and are very welcome additions to the team. Our sales model is extremely focused drawing on our data analytics to target specific opportunities. That model has enabled us to take significant market share within 15 months and we’ll continue to resource to the growth opportunity. Paul and Kim play an important role in the next stage of our growth plans and we’re excited to team up with them both.”

Philip Legg, Co-Founder, adds “We have ambitious plans to become the “go-to” business rates consultancy in the industry. Our hands on, client led approach, has enabled us to grow a stunning client list and we need to continue to tread the right balance between growth and delivering market leading results to our existing client base. We’re well stocked with our current team of 16 experts but we’re always keen to hear from the best talent in the industry and I wouldn’t be surprised to see us make further hires into the team in the coming months.”

Discover current opportunities at ForeView via our LinkedIn page

James has been in the business rates industry for over 13 years and joins from Capita where he worked on a number of Local Government contracts for Brent, Lambeth and Barnet as well as previously acting as Team Leader on the Westminster contract.  

Sam Walters, Co-Founder, says “A key pillar of our all encompassing service offer, particularly to our larger portfolio clients, is our rates authorisation and payment service where we administer rates bills on behalf of clients and provide full budgetary advice and payment services. James is uniquely qualified having spent large parts of his career on both sides of the fence at both the Local Authority and in the the corporate advisory world at Altus Group. Due to his particular skillset we identified James as the ideal candidate to lead this service offering at ForeView and we are delighted to secure his services.”

Ed Searle, Co-Founder, says “Fundamental reforms to the business rates system come into effect in 2026. The system moves to a compliance regime whereby ratepayers will be required to file annual tax returns and have a duty to notify HMRC of changes across their portfolio. At ForeView we are continually looking to grow and innovate and James will have a key role in helping us build towards the 2026 reforms whilst providing a “best in class” rates management service to our growing client base. We can now offer our clients a dedicated contact for their rates management and payment requirements. James is a great fit for our team and we’re really excited to see this service line grow under his watch.” 

Discover current opportunities at ForeView via our LinkedIn page.

Over the last 9 months a number of amendments have been made to the Completion Notice regulations and appeal process to ensure property owners are paying more in business rates on vacant property. One area of the system that remains unchanged is that a Completion Notice must be served on a vacant new or refurbished property to bring it back into the Rating List unless it is fully fitted and ready for immediate occupation.  

With a warehouse, the absence of small power supply, partitioning in the office accommodation or a data/telecoms supply would render the property not 100% complete and therefore subject to the Completion Notice regime.

This follows the lead Upper Tribunal cases of Porter v Gladman Sipps (2011) and Aviva v Whitby (2014) which examined what features are integral to an office and a warehouse to be capable of immediate occupation. Rating case law is forever evolving with both the Valuation Office and Ratepayers looking to challenge certain principes, often principles that have been previously untested. Despite the previous Upper Tribunal decisions which determined that a Completion Notice must be served to bring a vacant property into the rating list unless capable of immediate occupation, the Valuation Office decided to re-test the principle in a recent case that went before the Valuation Tribunal. This most recent case was in respect of a warehouse property on Fairlie Road in Slough where small power hadn’t been installed by the Landlord in the warehouse area as part of their refurbishment scheme. The Valuation Tribunal found in favour of the developer and considered the building incomplete in the absence of small power and subject to the Completion Notice regime.

Committed to their best-in-class offer, ForeView have landed the services of Henry Edwardes who joins as a Director. Henry’s appointment within the London team at ForeView comes a few weeks after the appointment of fellow Director Max Tann, who like Henry, joined from Altus Group. Henry’s focus will be in advising ForeView’s fast expanding occupier client base with his appointment showing further commitment from the team at ForeView to their industry leading, Director-led, service offer.

Ben Nelson, Co-Founder at ForeView says “When Henry’s services became available, we jumped at the opportunity to team-up with him again. His reputation speaks for itself as being one of the leading Business Rates professionals in the industry and we’re very excited to have landed such a high-profile appointment.”

Henry comments “The move to ForeView was an obvious step for the next stage in my career. I’ve been incredibly impressed by the growth they’ve achieved in a short space of time and the vision they have for the future is an exciting prospect. I can’t wait to get started and to help shape the future of ForeView.”

Philip Legg, Co-Founder commented “Without question, Henry is one of the most talented individuals I have worked with in our industry, and we are delighted that he has chosen ForeView to be the next phase in his career. Henry’s appointment reflects our continued commitment to hiring the best talent that exists in our industry. We’re not stopping here, with further hires planned.”

Discover any current opportunities at ForeView via our LinkedIn page.

Foreview are delighted to announce the appointment of Max Tann to their fast growing team. Max is appointed as a Director based in their London office with a focus on advising property Investors and Developers. He joins from Altus Group where he worked closely with Co-Founders Edward Searle and Sam Walters and established himself as a key player within the “empty rates” team advising a range of Institutional investors, property companies and developers. 

Max Tann says “When I considered the next phase of my career, ForeView jumped out as a specialist independent business rates consultancy with impressive growth plans. They have created a very exciting platform and to have the opportunity to help shape the growth of the business over the coming years was a proposition too good to turn down. I’m looking forward to getting started and connecting with clients and colleagues new and old.”

Ed Searle, Co-Founder, says “We have committed to building the best team in the market and when Max became available we jumped at the opportunity to team up with him again. Max is one of the brightest talents in the world of Investor & Developer business rates and we’re absolutely delighted he has chosen to join the team at ForeView. He provides us with significant additional firepower at a time when our client base is growing on a daily basis.”

Sam Walters, Co-Founder, adds “As we continue to take market share our biggest challenge is in identifying and securing the top talent in the industry to ensure we are providing our clients with a best in class service. Max has built a fantastic reputation within the property owner world and was top of our list as a key senior hire. Max will be able to hit the ground running and we’re extremely excited about the future and working with him again.

We won’t stop here. We have further growth plans and are always keen to hear from anyone who shares our values and has an in interest in joining the team.”

Chloe joins with a wide remit to support the team on sales, marketing and branding strategy alongside ensuring the smooth day to day running of the ForeView office. George joins on a 12 month placement from Nottingham Trent University and will provide much needed support to the surveying team whilst working towards his degree and RICS certification.

Ben Nelson, Co-Founder at ForeView says:

“As our client base continues to grow it’s vital that we bolster our delivery team to ensure we continue to provide industry leading advice and service. The market is demonstrating an appetite for a more proactive and client led approach to the way business rates advice is provided. We’ll continue to resource around that opportunity by building the best team in the industry and taking further market share.

Foreview will make further key hires in the coming months and we are always keen to hear from anyone who shares our values and has an interest in joining our team”

Discover current opportunities at ForeView via our LinkedIn page.