Colliers label business rates bill ‘poorly thought out’ and ‘growth strangling’ March 24, 2025 Commercial real estate agents Colliers has said the Government’s business rates bill will strangle growth rather than succeeding in saving the high street. The Non-Domestic Rates Bill is currently on its third reading in the House of Lords before being sent back to the Commons. “The Government is rushing through Parliament new business rates legislation [...]
Two thirds of large UK shops to pass on higher business rates to consumers March 18, 2025 Two thirds of businesses subject to the government’s new ‘super tax’ business rate multiplier will increase prices to combat cost pressures, a survey has found. The effect would be to increase prices in flagship retail stores by around three per cent, according to High Streets UK. “[The higher multiplier] would be a disaster for jobs, [...]
Retail job vacancies have almost halved in a year February 24, 2025 The number of advertised jobs in retail has almost halved in the last year as companies continue to buckle down on costs. Job vacancies have fallen 42.25 per cent in the last year, the most significant drop in any UK sector, according to Adzuna’s latest jobs report. There has been a contraction in retail for [...]
Retailers unite to warn Treasury on ‘perfect storm’ of costs February 11, 2025 A heavyweight group of retailers has warned the Treasury that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk in the retail sector due to unsustainable cost hikes this year. It’s the latest in a long string of warnings from the retail sector, which has been vocal about the coming damage to jobs and investment on [...]
Fun-police Labour are waging a war on pubs February 6, 2025 From business rates to labour costs and even employment regulations that could require landlords to clamp down on free speech, this Labour government has launched an all-out assault on pubs, says Chris Philp For millions of Londoners – especially those who WFH on Friday – when the end of week in the office comes into [...]
JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin calls on Starmer to reduce pub taxes January 22, 2025 Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin has once again called on the government and Keir Starmer to reduce the tax gap between supermarkets and pubs in his company’s latest trading update. Martin said following the government’s decision to hike the national minimum wage, business rates and employers’ national insurance, costs at Wetherspoon will increase by around £60m [...]
Business rates to more than double in ‘final blow’ to UK retailers January 21, 2025 Business rates are set to rise more than 140 per cent for thousands of high street businesses across the UK in yet another cost pressure for brick-and-mortar businesses. Business rates, which are levied on all commercial properties, were cut by 75 per cent in 2022 as high street stores found themselves unable to cope during [...]
Why you should still go to the pub in Dry January January 2, 2025 Dry January has crept up on us once again — a month in which avid pub-goers look to kickstart a healthier year ahead. For some, it’s a month to start fresh with new beginnings. For others, such as the hundreds of independent pubs across the nation looking for growth, it is yet another challenge. Especially [...]
Last orders: Pubs call for action as locals close across the country December 30, 2024 A top pub group has called for “swift and meaningful” reform to business rates today after new figures showed the number of boozers in England and Wales fell below 39,000 for the first time this year. According to official Government statistics, analysed by commercial real estate specialists at Altus Group, 412 pubs were either demolished [...]
Labour’s tax bombshell for high streets December 11, 2024 The government is rushing through business rates reforms for private schools without considering the wider implications for sectors we all rely on, says John Webber Twelve months ago, the Labour Party was still talking about scrapping business rates if it got into power. Whether that was a genuine plan or whether the £22m blackhole discovered [...]