'Business rates changes will cost me £62,000', pub boss warns

The owner of a small pub chain in the south east of England has said his costs will rise by £62,000 per year after changes announced in the Budget.

Phil Thorley, who runs the Thorley Taverns pub group, said business rates - a tax on commerical properties - will rise for 17 of his 18 sites, despite Rachel Reeves promising lower taxes for retail, leisure and hospitality firms.

Reeves had vowed to introduce the lowest taxes since 1991 for pubs, restaurants and small shops by increasing the levy on higher-value properties such as warehouses used by Amazon and other online giants.

The government said changes it had made meant it was saving most "typical independent pubs" £4,800 per year.

A firm's rateable value is based on how much it would cost to rent a firm's property for a year, and is used to calculate a business's rates bill.

The government said it will calculate business rates for 750,000 High Street retail and hospitality firms using a lower percentage of the rateable value of premises, but this lower tax rate was not as generous as expected.

At the same time, many firms have seen their rateable value increase and face the phasing out of a Covid-era 40% discount from April.

The net result is that, despite some transitional relief, lots of them will see significant increases in their business rates bill.

Analysis by tax advisory firm Ryan suggested the average small shop will see its business rates bill increase by 42%, restaurants will face a 45% jump and bills for pubs will be 66% higher.