Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium tops business rates league

Tottenham Hotspur’s new £1 billion stadium will have the highest business rates bill of any football ground in the country, new data shows.

The north London club will be forced to hand over £3.7 million this year in rates, more than any other club in the UK, after tax officials said the ground had a rateable value of £7.19 million.

Rates bills are calculated on a rateable value, which is determined by the Valuation Office Agency assessing each business premises in the country.

Spurs leapfrog arch rivals Arsenal, with a rateable value of £6.13 million, followed by Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool, according to official data calculated by rates specialists Altus Group.

The club’s 62,062-seater stadium, which has its own micro brewery and cheese room, also has a higher rateable value than Wembley Stadium

But, over in east London, West Ham will continue to enjoy the benefits of the taxpayer picking up the rates bill for its London Stadium home.

The club pay the former Olympic Stadium owners just £2.5 million a year, meaning the rates bill of £1.6 million is paid by E20 – a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council.

West Ham will pay just £282,942 in rates for the exclusive office and retail space it uses.

Elsewhere, Sunderland’s Stadium of Light has the highest rateable value of any ground outside the Premier League, with a value of £3.53 million.

Manchester United beat rivals Manchester City, with a rateable value of £6.1 million for Old Trafford, versus £4.65 million for the Etihad Stadium, and on Merseyside, Liverpool’s Anfield is nearly double the value of Everton, with a rateable value of £4.4 million.

Robert Hayton, head of UK business rates at Altus Group, which calculated the data, said: “Rateable values for football stadia and grounds are calculated using gross receipts, rather than local property values based on what league the club play in at the relevant [valuation date].”

He added: “Historically the financial success or otherwise of a club closely follows its performances on the field, but in recent times the ability to attract a wealthy financial backer has been just as important in a club’s ambition to grow.”

At Spurs, the redevelopment of White Hart Lane has seen its rateable value soar nearly 200% from £2.5 million.

Without the redevelopment, Spurs would have paid £1.2 million, Altus said.

Current Rateable Values

– Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
£7,190,000

– Arsenal
Emirates Stadium
£6,130,000

– Manchester United
Old Trafford
£6,090,000

– Manchester City
Etihad Stadium
£4,650,000

– Liverpool
Anfield
£4,410,000

– Newcastle United
St James’ Park
£4,000,000

– Chelsea
Stamford Bridge
£3,650,000

– Sunderland
Stadium of Light
£3,530,000

– Aston Villa
Villa Park
£2,870,000

– Everton
Goodison Park
£2,440,000

– Figures from the Valuation Office Agency/Altus Group