BUSINESS rates of just over £150,000 are due to be written off for three national retailers which have stores in Carmarthenshire.

Debenhams, Monsoon Accessorize and Cotswold Outdoor parent company Outdoor and Cycle

Concepts all entered company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) last year.

This arragement enables firms which are experiencing difficulties to pay off debts over a fixed period of time and gives them breathing space to restructure.

They have become a popular way for retailers to reduce costs such as rent and business rates.

Carmarthenshire Council’s executive board member for resources, Cllr David Jenkins, will consider an officer recommendation to write off £118,884 business rates for Debenhams at a meeting on February 27.

This sum is just under half of the £255,110 the company was meant to pay in business rates in Carmarthenshire in 2019-20. Debenhams has branches in Carmarthen and Llanelli.

The report before Cllr Jenkins said Debenhams’s CVA decision was being appealed by one landlord, but that it was unlikely to be successful given a previous High Court case.

“The advice is to proceed with write-off and reverse the decision/reinstate the debt if the appeal is upheld,” said the report.

Monsoon Accessorize Ltd is expected to have £22,981 of business rates written off at the meeting, while the write-off sum for Outdoor and Cycle Concepts is £8,381.

While councils collect business rates, the money itself – more than £30 billion across the UK – goes to the Treasury.

Some of it is then shared back among councils, with Carmarthenshire in line to receive £64.5 million in 2020-21.

The Local Democracy Reporter Service contacted Debenhams, Monsoon Accessorize and Outdoor and Cycle Concepts, but none of them responded at the time of going to press.