Property consultant CBRE has beefed up its team handling business rates revaluation appeals in the north-east.
The recruitment of Moira Gordon and Kirsty Gordon comes as firms throughout the region continue to suffer the impact of a big jump in their rates bills.
Both women have joined CBRE’s Aberdeen office from FG Burnett, where Moira Gordon was latterly a director and head of business rates and taxation. She is now a director at CBRE.
Kirsty Gordon recently passed her Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Assessment of Professional Comp-etence and has joined CBRE as a surveyor.
For both women, their immediate focus will be to help CBRE’s occupier and landlord clients with outstanding 2017 revaluation appeals that are due to be heard later this year and into 2020
Brian Rogan, CBRE’s head of rating in Scotland, said: “This is still a challenging time for north-east businesses after the exceptional economic changes witnessed in recent years.
“The 2017 rates revaluation continues to be an area of huge controversy, with the increase in rateable values putting significant extra burden on an already challenging business environment.
“Thousands of 2017 revaluation and material change of circumstance appeals submitted by north-east businesses remain outstanding and are currently spiralling towards litigation.
“Kirsty and Moira’s appointment will enable us to strengthen our offering to clients and ensure we are well-positioned to provide ratepayers with any strategic advice they will need immediately and in the future on their non-domestic rates liabilities.”
Derren McRae, managing director for CBRE in Aberdeen, added: “Now, more than ever, ratepayers need the advice of experienced and dedicated rating surveyors who understand and follow how these changes will impact on their business performance.
“Moira and Kirsty have considerable experience in navigating ratepayers through the new Scottish rating appeal and relief legislation.
“Their appointments will be of direct benefit to CBRE’s clients.”
Aberdeen-based commercial property consultancy FG Burnett recently announced the appointment of Richard Foster, previously a director and senior valuer in the regional assessor’s office, as its new head of rating.