‘Heavy hitting’ director recruited to Colliers’ business rates team

The Colliers Business Rates Team has appointed Mike Dunlevey (pictured), a highly respected and well-known rating industry figure as a director in its national business rates team.

Mike’s principal role is to deal with the delivery of the team’s focussed CCA submission strategy for the 2023 Rating List; a list which is undergoing considerable scrutiny given it was based on property values in March 2021, mid Covid-19.

Mike will work on a national basis, across the business’s 11 UK offices using a data led programme to support the rating team challenging the current list, on their clients’ behalf.

He will also look at best practice to tackle the team’s response to the 2026 Rating List, once the draft list is published this November.

Prior to joining Colliers, Mike spent over 30 years at the VOA where he held senior leadership roles; becoming statutory valuation officer first for the East Midlands Unit (the largest unit) and then for the London Valuation Unit.

This role encompassed responsibility for the whole of Central London and the boroughs to the north to the M25, including Hertfordshire and represented 30 per cent of the total rateable values of non-domestic properties in England and Wales.

In addition, when the new CCA (Check, Challenge, Appeal) system was introduced in 2017, Mike was responsible for the delivery of the Challenge function and implementation in general.

He also was on the Revaluation Project Board for the VOA.

Following his career at the VOA, Mike joined Altus Group as a vice president, responsible for strategic leadership, including organisation, policy and process. He remained at Altus for just under 5 years.

Mike joins a growing national business rates team at Colliers led by John Webber and now consisting of 27 directors. The total team numbers around 140 staff.

John Webber said: “Mike has considerable experience and reputation in the industry, having worked on both sides of the fence, and we are delighted that he has agreed to join our team. 

“His new role will help us to ensure we cover all bases and provide best practice advice to our clients considering challenging their rateable values in the 2023 list, particularly during the run up to deadline day in April.

“As latest VOA statistics show, there is considerable work to be done as more checks and challenges to this list come forward in the next 7 months and we plan to be well resourced to tackle the challenge of the job.

“Mike’s experience will also be invaluable as we approach the 2026 list. A warm welcome to Mike.”

Mike Dunlevey added: “I am very excited about this new opportunity and look forward to working with the business rates and wider teams at Colliers to ensure clients are fully served for the 2023 list and its connected appeal system.

“Going forward I’ll be working to prepare for the arrival of the 2026 list next April. It’s going to be a busy time, but one I believe we’ll thrive in! “