'We're still in the dark': U-turn on pub business rates welcomed in Shropshire - but 'devil will be in the detail'
Pubs have been handed a boost after the Government appears to have carried out a U-turn on a planned hike in business rates due to come into force from April.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her November Budget that business rates relief for pubs, which has been in place since the Covid pandemic, would be scrapped from April 2026.
They had previously been scaled back from 75 per cent to 40 per cent and, at the same time, the Treasury has readjusted the rateable values of commercial property, leaving some businesses with higher bills overall.
The scrapping of business rate relief entirely would have left landlords facing potentially huge increases in monthly outgoings at a time when the pub industry is battling many challenges such as the squeeze on discretionary spending, climbing energy prices and cheaper drinks in supermarkets.
Industry figures suggested the average increase on business rates over the next three years was around 76 per cent for pubs and 115 per cent for hotels.
Although no concrete details have so far been announced, the Government is expected to make changes to how pubs' business rates are calculated, meaning smaller rises to bills.
Reports say any forthcoming changes will affect pubs only and not the wider hospitality sector such as hotels.
Ollie Parry has run The Salopian Bar in Shrewsbury town centre for 20 years and said he was facing incremental rises in his business rates which would have peaked in April 2029, leaving him with a £66,000 annual bill.
He currently pays £18,000 a year and warned last month that the pub's running costs could have increased by £185,000 over the past year once minimum wage and National Insurance increases were also factored in.
Mr Parry told the Shropshire Star: "I am very happy they have seen sense and are making a U-turn but, until it is actually announced, we are still as much in the dark about them increasing the rates in the first place.
