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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n Gatwick airport has warned that plans to invest billions in a new runway and airport upgrades could be jeopardised if ministers push through a fourfold increase in its business rates bill in next month\u2019s Budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n The airport\u2019s investors are preparing to make the final investment decision on a \u00a32.2bn expansion to open a long-awaited second runway that was approved by ministers last month. They are also planning to invest around \u00a32bn in expanding facilities and upgrades.\u00a0<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s second largest airport currently pays about \u00a340mn in business rates annually. <\/p>\n However, the government\u2019s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has indicated to the airport that rates could rise by 300 per cent, pushing its bill as high as \u00a3160mn \u2014 close to Gatwick\u2019s annual entire staff bill of \u00a3180mn.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have made crystal clear to [the] Treasury that what we are really looking for is tax treatment that incentivises us to invest,\u201d said Stewart Wingate, who was chief executive of Gatwick airport for 15 years and is now head of the UK for Vinci airports, its major shareholder.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are looking down the barrel of having a [rates] bill that quite unbelievably could be equivalent to staff costs. Frankly, that is neither fair, nor proportionate to our business,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In its submissions to the government, the airport warned that any increase in business rates of more than 40 per cent above its current levels \u2014 which would take its annual bill to around \u00a356mn \u2014 would eat into its profits so much that it weighs on investment decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Accounts for 2024, the most recently available, show the company made a pre-tax profit of \u00a3294mn. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have laid out the 40 per cent cap, to make it clear that so long as the business rates increase fall within that cap, we will push ahead running the business and investing in the business,\u201d Wingate told the FT. <\/p>\n \u201cAny increase above that level is something that will be food for thought for our investors, before we commit ourselves one way or the other,\u201d adding the airport would have to consider \u201cthe consequences\u201d of any final decision by the government.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gatwick\u2019s \u00a32.2bn expansion would see its backup runway moved 12 metres, to be used alongside the existing one. The airport believes the project would create around 14,000 jobs, and help to grow passenger numbers to 80mn a year.<\/p>\n Airports in the UK are increasingly concerned they are facing a steep increase in business rates, after a change in the methodology used by the VOA.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new band comes into force in April 2026. Gatwick was told by the VOA in November last year that the rate could be a six-fold increase on current levels. Its latest discussions with the agency indicate a four-fold rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes in the Budget on November 26 to plug a hole in the nation\u2019s finances estimated at between \u00a320bn-30bn.<\/p>\n However businesses \u2014 which were hit by a \u00a326bn increase in employers\u2019 National Insurance last year \u2014 have warned that significant business rate increases would impact many crucial sectors, including the high street.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to its 40 per cent cap, Gatwick has asked the government for an overhaul of the way rates are set in order to give long-term certainty to its international investors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nigh on impossible to budget the business for the calendar year 2026, when the cost line was so \u201cunpredictable and volatile\u201d, Wingate added.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Treasury said: \u201cBusiness rates valuations are set independently by the VOA. We support those hit hardest by revaluation increases and continue to engage with the sector on their concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Gatwick airport has warned that plans to invest billions in a new runway and airport upgrades could be jeopardised if ministers push through a fourfold increase in its business rates bill in next month\u2019s Budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[3480,1845,14064,17974,2045,313,736,101,1060],"class_list":{"0":"post-30686","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-airport","9":"tag-expected","10":"tag-gatwick","11":"tag-imposed","12":"tag-investment","13":"tag-rise","14":"tag-risk","15":"tag-tax","16":"tag-warns"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}