QBD 8 May 1989. The appellant council challenged the court`s decision that the empty property rate payable by (H) should be reduced by 25% of the full rate on the grounds of hardship . This right to appeal to the Crown Court was established by Investors in Industrial Commercial Property Ltd v Norwich CC (1986) under General Rate Act 1967 s7 . H was a small property investment company which in 1987 only added £411 to its reserves. Payment of rates as they stood would deplete these reserves by £4,000. The loss in profit was seen to be due to the properties lying empty. However the company was able to pay a management company, made up of its directors, £18,000 and still make a profit of £411 and keep £27,000 in reserves. Appeal allowed on the grounds that if the reduced rate of £2,000 would not have represented a hardship for the company then neither would the full rate of £4,000 taking the meaning of hardship to be whether the company would find it difficult to pay the bill.