Alex White and Ben Monk join EY business rates team
Big Four firm EY has made two senior appointments to its UK business rates team. Alex White and Ben Monk join EY on the back of each spending five years with Colliers International.
Business rates are taxes paid on non-residential properties, such as shops, offices, factories, and pubs. If a company occupies a building, or part of one, used for non-domestic purposes, then chances are it is required to pay business rates – as residents of some 1.8 million other commercial properties are. As the retail and dining sector continue to be endure mass insolvency and collapse, however, business rates have come under increasing fire, with many firms citing them as a factor in their eventual downfall.
As the debate around business rates continues and speculation that it may be subject to one of new Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s key announcements on budget day increases, many consulting firms are facing demand from clients looking for ways to survive in this increasingly difficult environment. In response to this, professional services giant EY has announced the arrival of two key appointments to its business rates team.
Alex White joins the team as an Associate Partner, having been a business rates specialist for the last 13 years, working in both public and private sector. Prior to joining EY, he was head of the business rates team at PwC, following five years as a Director with Colliers International. At EY, he will lead the development and growth of the business rates team.
White said of his new role, “A large focus of my role will be providing our clients, who have an interest in UK commercial property, with a broad range of business rates related advice. Business rates are a significant cost to those liable to pay the property tax. With the system becoming more complex the need for advice from professionals who specialise in the tax is essential for our clients to fully understand the impact on their own businesses.”
Ben Monk, meanwhile, joins the team as a Director and has 12 years’ experience in the business rates sector. Similarly, Monk has spent an extended period with Colliers International, arriving after five years with the firm. He has been a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors since 2012.
Monk commented, “I am relishing the opportunity of joining EY’s Business Rates team. Business rates continues to be a topic of significant debate for UK tax policy. Joining the EY team gives Alex and I the opportunity to take a fresh look at an established sector with a view to refreshing our clients’ understanding and expectations of this complex area of business tax.”
