Trouva to help independent retailers fight business rate pressures

Online marketplace Trouva has announced a new partnership with real estate advisors Harper Dennis Hobbs (HDH) to help its community of 500 high street stores tackle the pressure of business rates.

The partnership will see Trouva’s network of boutiques receive access to HDH’s bespoke business rates investigation and appeal services, as well as hands-on lease advisory services to assist with rent reviews, lease renewals and negotiations. The partnership will also enable Trouva's retailers to take advantage of HDH’s advice in sourcing and acquiring new stores.

The news comes following the introduction of the government’s Future High Street Fund that opened on Boxing Day 2018 - a fund which saw 675 million pounds in funding from Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond’s budget dedicated to breathing much-needed life into the UK’s high streets.

Trouva said that, while the Future High Street Fund is a step in the right direction, more needs to be done to support small high street businesses through the provision of practical help on property and retail-related issues. Trouva hopes that its new partnership will do just that.

“There has never been more uncertainty around the future of our high streets, and at Trouva we’ve long been campaigning for a reduction in business rates so that independent shops don’t continually get punished by this archaic tax,” co-founder and CEO at Trouva, Mandeep Singh, said in a statement.

“Last April saw business rates rise yet again, meaning 1 million small businesses saw an unaffordable 3 percent increase in their rates. Although independents are starting to get help of sorts from the government via the Future High Street Fund, as a global platform for independent shopping, we see it as our responsibility to also make a practical difference to our community of boutiques which makes HDH a natural choice for our next strategic partnership.

“Independent stores don’t typically have the resources or budget to access tailored services from these real-estate experts, so by offering this service by a trusted partner and in a convenient and cost-efficient manner, we hope our community will benefit greatly.”

Photo credit: Trouva