Cardtronics and Others v Sykes (VO) and Others

The Court of Appeal has decided that ATMs in retail premises are not separately rateable from the premises at which they are sited, whether accessible to the public from within the shop or externally. This reverses decisions of the Valuation Tribunal for England and the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) as well as the established practice of the Valuation Office Agency. The merger of ATMs with shop assessments does not generally increase the shop assessment correspondingly or at all, and owing to the very large number of ATMs in operation, the decision will lead to substantial rate reductions and refunds for banks and/or retailers. The Court of Appeal’s decision may apply to ATMs in other locations and may also have wider implications, for example for other facilities provided within shops, airport terminals, railway stations and elsewhere. Richard Drabble QC and Christopher Lewsley acted for Sainsburys. Tim Mould QC and Guy Williams acted for Tesco. Tim Mould QC and Christopher Lewsley acted for Co-op. Dan Kolinsky QC and Luke Wilcox acted for Cardtronics. Tim Morshead QC and Galina Ward acted for the Valuation Officers.