Any hereditament whose owner is a company which is subject to a Winding Up Order under the Insolvency Act 1986 or which is being wound up voluntarily under that Act is exempt from business rates. PAG Management Services was incorporated to manage and coordinate an artificial scheme whose sole reason for existence was to exploit this exemption. The scheme was struck down by Norris J in SOS for BIS v PAG Management Services Ltd (2015) EWHC 2404 (Ch), not because it was contrary to the public interest ( ratepayers can organise their affairs so as to avoid paying rates), but because it was a misuse of the insolvency legislation and commercially improper to use a company in liquidation as an asset shelter.

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