Joe and Valerie Fryer v Wayne Cox
Decision date: 2 September 2022
Neutral citation: [2022] UKUT 229 (LC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
The Upper Tribunal allowed Joe and Valerie Fryer's appeal in part against the VTE decision on the 2017 list rateable value for Apple Jacks Adventure Park, applying the receipts & expenditure (R&E) method and reducing RV from £35,000 to £11,750 (AVD 1 April 2015; material day 1 April 2017). The Tribunal adopted cautious maintainable receipts of £755,000, made specific allowances for costs (including repairs, advertising, insurance, management and working capital), treated actual rates payable at the AVD as an expense, and assessed a tenant's share of 75% producing a rent-equivalent leaving a rounded RV of £11,750.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
The decision supports the proposition that in R&E valuations a cautious estimate of maintainable receipts should be adopted where historic figures show volatility or exceptional outliers, and that the full R&E approach should be preferred to a shortened (% of turnover) method where evidence is limited or non-comparable; it also indicates that actual rates payable at the AVD can be treated as an expense with the risk of valuation office adjustments reflected within the tenant’s share rather than by assuming extreme certified figures.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The Tribunal indicated (obiter) that national trend data (eg Visit England) may inform valuation but should be treated cautiously and not relied upon to predict local attraction performance; benchmarking against other farm attractions can assist on expense percentages but cannot replace site-specific evidence; and where occupiers undertake substantial day-to-day work a realistic manager cost allowance is likely appropriate as an expense rather than placing all remuneration in the tenant’s share.