Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD
Museum and Premises Decided 3 March 2026 CHG101120169 Powis Hughes Ltd - Rafe Staples
Figures are as stated in the decision; a dash means the document does not state that figure.
What was argued and what the tribunal found
The appellant, a non-departmental public body operating as a non-profit museum attracting millions of visitors annually, challenged the rateable value of £12.92 million originally assessed. The tribunal applied the receipts and expenditure valuation method endorsed by the Upper Tribunal in precedent cases, using actual fair maintainable trade figures rather than notional figures. The tribunal found that the museum operated at an operating loss, could not be occupied for profit, and that the Grant in Aid funding was provided specifically for free admission and could not be treated as additional rent-generating income. Following established Upper Tribunal precedent for loss-making museums, the tribunal determined a nominal rateable value of £1 was appropriate.
Summary generated from the decision text and checked against it. The appellant was The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, represented.
Grounds argued
- Trading receipts (pubs, hotels)
- Valuation method
- Rental evidence · decisive
- Evidence
- Trading accounts, Expert report, Earlier tribunal decisions
- Cases cited
- Hughes (VO) v York Museums Gallery Trust [2017] UKUT 200 (LC); Hughes (VO) v Exeter City Council [2020] UKUT 0007 (LC); Allen (VO) v Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums [2022] UKUT 206 (LC); Hoare v National Trust; Scottish Exhibition Centre; R v London School Board (1886) 17 QBD 738
- Hearing
- 10 February 2026
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