Blake Penfold is a business rates consultant with his own consultancy named, with great imagination – Blake Penfold!

Blake has more than 40 years’ experience as a rating consultant in private practice and has been involved with business rates appeals in respect of all types of property throughout the United Kingdom and in the Irish Republic, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

As well as appeals before Valuation Tribunals and the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), he has been involved with appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on matters of rating law. He has also appeared before Local Valuation Appeal Committees in Scotland and as an expert witness in the High Court, at County Court, and in Magistrates’ Court proceedings in respect of business rates.

Blake began his career with H Brian Eve and Company (later Wilks Head & Eve) before joining Hillier Parker (now CBRE) and more recently, headed the Business Rates team at GL Hearn for ten years. He is a former Chairman of the RICS Rating and Local Taxation Panel and represents RICS on the Valuation Tribunal for England Tribunal User Group and elsewhere, including giving evidence to the Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee on the Business Rates Supplements Bill. He is a past President of the Rating Surveyors’ Association and a former member of the Valuation Standards Board of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

His consultancy has expertise in all aspects of business rates, from legislation to liability and all types of property. He also has experience from throughout the United Kingdom and in respect of property tax systems elsewhere.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science (BSc) University of London

Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)

Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb)