The city centre location of the portfolio brings an additional level of complexity to appeal negotiations with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and this lends itself to apply technical knowledge with the aim of maximising much needed savings for the Trust. Our Rating team has experienced surveyors who are experts in rating for healthcare and have proven track records of achieving results beyond the levels offered in the VOA NHS Memoranda of Agreements.
Our 2017 Revaluation appeal strategy for UCLH involved an initial stage of reviewing the draft list entries to identify any savings opportunities. Through a combination of determining factual errors within the valuations and negotiating tone reductions on three of UCLH’s office assessments, we saved the Trust £240,000 before the list became live.
We submitted Checks promptly for the sites where the evidence justified appeal action, but delayed submission in other instances until more evidence became available to achieve the best outcome. We secured £3.1m of savings on UCLH’s new Phase 5 project building on Huntley Street, which accommodates the Ear, Nose, Throat and Dental hospitals. The strategy was two-fold.
Firstly, we negotiated a new assessment with the VOA based on the Memorandum of Agreement build costs, instead of actual build costs. Secondly, we persuaded the London Borough of Camden (LBC) that the effective date should be when the entire building was completed and all areas were ready to receive patients, instead of a phased entry into the list. On the previous Eastman Dental Hospital on Grays Inn Road, we negotiated a merger of three assessments in the 2010 rating list, which saved the Trust £320,000 and additionally agreed a transitional certificate, which released a further £170,000 of savings. The result at the Phase 5 facility has set a precedent for the new, 350,000 sq ft proton beam therapy centre on Tottenham Court Road to be assessed on the Memorandum of Agreement build costs, instead of actual build costs and this will save the Trust £2.4m. We have already persuaded LBC to amend their Billing Authority Report, which originally stated an effective date of 14 April 2021 to 22 January 2022, when all floors were completed. This has saved UCLH £1.03m.
Outcomes achieved:
- Total 2017 RV of all subjects amounts to £20.4m
- £4.4m of rates savings secured on the 2017 rating list to date. A further £2.4m of savings secured on new site due to precedent set by previous appeal
- £5.0m in rates savings on the 2010 rating list
