BJ Gill KC, Chair of the Independent Review of the Valuation of Licensed Hospitality has issued a call for evidence to help inform its work.
The Scottish Government has set up the Gill Review to consider the valuation methodology for properties in the licensed hospitality sector for the purposes of non-domestic rates.
The call for evidence which can be found online asks for any information relevant to the terms of reference of the Review.
The Scottish Government commissioned the Gill Review following a commitment made in its Programme for Government 2025-26. The Review will report its findings by the end of 2026 and the Scottish Government will consider those findings before the 2029 revaluation cycle.
Mr Gill 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 get to an estimate of the annual rental value of a licensed hospitality property. By law, that is the basis for its rateable value.
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.
So I implore anyone interested in the outcome of the Review to engage with us. This is your chance to influence the work of the Review. Please give us any rental evidence that you have: without it, we won’t be able to reach any meaningful conclusions.”
The call for evidence also asks for any other relevant information or research material.
The call for evidence now runs until 5:00 PM on Monday 20 April 2026.
Background
Further information about the call for evidence can be found on the Call for Evidence webpage: Licensed hospitality valuation methodology: Gill review – call for evidence – gov.scot.
Further information about the Gill Review can be found at Licensed hospitality valuation methodology: Gill review – gov.scot
Procedures have been put in place to ensure the protection of any confidential material received.
