Format decimal for percentage values?

Use the P format string. This will vary by culture:

String.Format("Value: {0:P2}.", 0.8526) // formats as 85.26 % (varies by culture)

If you have a good reason to set aside culture-dependent formatting and get explicit control over whether or not there's a space between the value and the "%", and whether the "%" is leading or trailing, you can use NumberFormatInfo's PercentPositivePattern and PercentNegativePattern properties.

For example, to get a decimal value with a trailing "%" and no space between the value and the "%":

myValue.ToString("P2", new NumberFormatInfo { PercentPositivePattern = 1, PercentNegativePattern = 1 });

More complete example:

using System.Globalization; 

...

decimal myValue = -0.123m;
NumberFormatInfo percentageFormat = new NumberFormatInfo { PercentPositivePattern = 1, PercentNegativePattern = 1 };
string formattedValue = myValue.ToString("P2", percentageFormat); // "-12.30%" (in en-us)

If you want to use a format that allows you to keep the number like your entry this format works for me: "# \\%"