‘Not all sunlit uplands’: Pub bosses weigh in on whether Brexit leaves a bitter taste Hospitality A decade on from the referendum, has Brexit left a bitter taste? The bosses of the UK’s biggest pub firms have their say Notoriously outspoken, the bosses of the UK’s leading pub brands are usually shouting about the same thing: the tax and regulatory burden threatening watering holes across the country. But, on the anniversary [...]
Would a £10bn VAT cut really save hospitality? Hospitality Calls for the government to slash VAT on hospitality firms have been backed by pub and restaurant bosses, and Prime Minister hopeful Andy Burnham. What would this tax break really mean for the economy? The UK’s pubs, hotels and restaurants say they are at breaking point. Higher business rates, hikes to national insurance and minimum [...]
Tories pledge to slash tax and red tape in ‘alternative King’s Speech’ Politics The Tories have set out their vision for the UK economy, pledging to slash taxes and red tape to “back innovation, entrepreneurship and growth”. Kemi Badenoch’s party has said it would slash welfare spending, scrap business rates for high street business and repeal Labour’s workers’ rights reforms. The Conservatives have published their “alternative King’s Speech,” [...]
Tax hikes call time on two pubs a day crushing 2,400 jobs May 5, 2026 The government’s bitter round of tax hikes imposed on the hospitality industry is said to have forced the closure of two pubs a day in the first three months of the year in yet another blow to the already bruised sector. Figures from the Beer Bar and Pub Association (BBPA) showed 161 pubs across Britain [...]
Government urged to reform ‘growth killer’ business rates April 27, 2026 Britain’s largest industry body has called on the government to urgently reform business rates, which it says is a “growth killer”. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said the government should keep its manifesto pledge to reform the business rates system as a matter of urgency. Business rates is a tax determined by the [...]
Franco Manca shuts 16 restaurants, blaming ‘disproportionate’ taxes April 15, 2026 Franco Manca has taken aim at “disproportionately high” taxes facing the hospitality sector after the pizza parlour shut 16 restaurants in a structural overhaul. The privately-owned restaurant chain said it is suffering from high VAT and “significant” hikes to national insurance and minimum wages, with the site closures to cost hundreds of jobs. The move [...]
Energy bills threat recedes but retail and hospitality remain on brink April 8, 2026 Retail and hospitality leaders are optimistic that the Iran-US ceasefire could spare them from the worst energy bill shocks, but are urging the government to address an array of other cost pressures. British businesses had warned that the soaring energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East could be devastating if the conflict [...]
JP Morgan to build Canary Wharf’s tallest tower – if there is a tax incentive April 7, 2026 JP Morgan has been given the green light to build Canary Wharf’s largest tower but questions still remain over controversial tax incentives to lure the Wall Street titan in. The US banking behemoth has been in talks with officials from London City Airport regarding height restrictions for the tower. The bank is understood to have [...]
Pubs to open late during World Cup – a life raft for hospitality? February 24, 2026 Though the Labour government and the country’s thousands of pub landlords have very rarely seen eye-to-eye in recent months, the World Cup could bring a summer truce to this fiery dispute. Hospitality trade bodies and one of the country’s biggest pub chains have told City AM they welcome the government’s move to allow pubs to [...]
Admiral pubs boss: business rates will ‘kill off the high street’ February 23, 2026 The boss of a northern-based pubs company has claimed business rates will “kill off” the high street as well as pubs unless the levy is fundamentally reformed. Chris Jowsey, chief executive of Admiral Taverns, told City AM the government must deliver on its pledge to overhaul the business rates system, which he said “penalises bricks [...]