The Court of Appeal (CoA) in the UK has ruled that a decision to lower a commercial rates bill for Dublin-based club, Copper Face Jacks and its neighbouring hotel from €1.75 million to €1.15 million must be revisited. Backing a High Court ruling, the CoA affirmed that the Commissioner of Valuation had the right to instruct a re-evaluation of how the rates for both establishments, found on Harcourt Street, were derived.
The Commissioner had initially asserted that the rates should be gauge on an estimated net annual value (NAV) of the property being at €1.75 million for rating determinations. However, complications arose when the Valuation Tribunal resolved to diminish the NAV to €1.15 million after an appeal by Breanagh Catering Ltd, the firm that runs both the hotel and the nightclub.
The company had contended in 2013 that the €1.75 million NAV calculated following a revaluation of commercial properties in the Dublin City Council area was inordinate and proposed a €840,000 valued NAV instead.
The Tribunal’s decision to permit a €1.15 million NAV in 2016 took into account certain considerations such as applying 11% to the earnings from the nightclub’s door and cloakroom, which was set at €3.2 million, and an €200,000 allocation to represent the exceptional skills of the tenant.
However, the High Court disapproved the Tribunal’s approach in October 2021, stating that they focused more on the percentages to allocate to the door and cloakroom proceeds than considering whether the initial €1.75 million NAV was excessive. Breanagh Catering then appealed against the High Court’s verdict, a move that was countered by the Commissioner.
In a verdict delivered by Mr Justice Robert Haughton on Friday, representing the trio of judges from the Court of Appeal, it was determined that Breanagh was unsuccessful in proving any incompetence from the High Court’s end in its judgment that the tribunal did not provide satisfactory rationale for their verdict. Subsequently, the Court of Appeal has ordered for the dispute to undergo another session in front of a distinct tribunal body, aimed at revisiting Breanagh’s objections regarding the Commissioner’s ruling.
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