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The UK government is preparing to announce a softening of the planned increases in business rates for pubs across England in the coming days. This adjustment will alter the way pub business rates are assessed, leading to smaller-than-expected hikes in their bills. Treasury officials have acknowledged the economic strain caused by significant rises in the rateable values assigned to pub properties, which has placed many landlords under pressure.
This decision arrives after a wave of lobbying from pub owners and industry representatives, intensified by actions such as over a thousand pubs refusing entry to Labour MPs. Alongside the business rates issue, the Treasury is reportedly considering easing licensing regulations to enable longer opening hours and more space for outdoor drinking. The changes come in the wake of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ November Budget, which reduced pandemic-era business rate discounts from 75% down to 40%, with plans to eliminate the discount entirely starting April. These factors combined to present pub landlords with the prospect of sharply increased business rates bills.
The campaign for greater support has gained momentum in recent weeks, with industry leaders urging the government to reconsider its approach. Labour MPs have publicly called for a rethink, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, writing in The Telegraph, proposed abolishing business rates for thousands of pubs entirely, accusing the government of exploiting these establishments “like cash cows to milk.” Business rates for pubs are calculated by multiplying the rateable value of their premises by a government-set multiplier. Some relief has already been given by reducing this multiplier for pubs, and further cuts or enhancements to the £4.3 billion transitional relief fund remain possibilities to help mitigate the recent increases.
Industry figures have welcomed the announcement of additional relief measures. Emma McClarkin, CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association, described the potential changes as “a huge win” for the sector that could preserve local pubs and jobs. Kate Nicholls, chair of UK Hospitality, emphasized that any relief should extend beyond pubs to include all hospitality businesses such as cafes and restaurants. She advocated for a “hospitality-wide solution” involving the maximum 20p reduction to the multiplier for all relevant properties. Critics of the government’s reversals on other policies have labeled this move another U-turn. Shadow business and trade secretary Andrew Griffith claimed the change revealed that Rachel Reeves’ Budget was “falling apart,” while Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper called it “the last chance saloon” for pubs and urged the government to act immediately. It is worth noting that business rates policy is devolved across the UK, with Scottish hospitality businesses awaiting their own budget announcement next week, hoping for similar relief measures
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