Bring ‘punishing’ high street taxes in line with banks, Healey urged Retail John Healey has been urged to bring down the “punishing” tax burden facing the retail and hospitality industries, which is higher than any other sector. Hospitality businesses pay 82p in taxes for every pound and retail pays 72p, compared to the 40p paid by banks, according to new analysis by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) [...]
Treasury launches business rates review for pubs and hotels Hospitality The Treasury has launched a review into how business rates are calculated for pubs and hotels in the government’s latest bid to boost businesses operating in town centres. Launched on Monday, the government said the review will “look at improving fairness for businesses” and will aim “to ensure the system is fair and transparent, and [...]
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 [...]
Labour’s holiday tax ‘will make staycations more expensive’ May 13, 2026 A leading trade body has attacked the government’s plans to push through a so-called holiday tax, which it says will make Brits’ staycations more expensive. Labour unveiled an Overnight Visitor Levy Bill as part of the King’s Speech, which provides the legislative framework for mayors to be handed the power to impose a tourism tax [...]
Annabel’s owner sells Mayfair empire in £1.4bn Abu Dhabi deal April 12, 2026 Richard Caring has sold a majority stake in the business behind Annabel’s, the Ivy and a string of London’s most exclusive restaurants to an Abu Dhabi-backed investor in a deal valuing the group at around £1.4bn. The buyer, Diafa, is a luxury hospitality platform linked to International Holding Company (IHC), chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin [...]
It’s a sad story from brewery to pub February 26, 2026 It was a balmy 17 degrees in the Square Mile yesterday, drawing crowds out for a lunchtime pint in the sun. But in other parts of the country the hospitality sector is still in the grip of winter. Bad news came thick and fast from my native Cornwall yesterday, starting with confirmation that Sharp’s Brewery [...]
Landlords ‘underestimated’ scale of business rates overhaul February 11, 2026 The architect of Labour’s business rates overhaul has blamed the political backlash to the controversial policy on landlords and industry chiefs not fully understanding that a pandemic-related subsidy was coming to an end. Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson told MPs that business owners were taken off-guard by the scale of their tax rise because they weren’t [...]
Wetherspoon to reveal Christmas trading amid challenging backdrop for pubs January 18, 2026 Pub giant JD Wetherspoon is set to shed light on how its customers fared over the key Christmas period amid a backdrop of rising costs for the sector. The value pub chain, which runs around 800 venues across the UK, will become the latest firm to reveal its latest trading performance when it updates shareholders [...]
Calls for hospitality support grow as business rates outcry deepens January 12, 2026 Calls for the government to extend its rumoured support package for pubs to the entire hospitality industry grew on Monday, after a string of data releases laid bare the bleak outlook for UK venues amid fresh polling that reveals enormous public support for the embattled sector. According to the latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll, 70 [...]
Ministers to offer business rates relief to pubs after backlash January 8, 2026 Panicked ministers are poised to water down the business rates bombshell faced by pubs, after an aggressive backlash from the industry saw over a thousand landlords ban Labour MPs from their premises. The government is expected to announce an overhaul to the way it calculates business rates for pubs within days, which it says will [...]