Government unveils business rates cuts and late licensing boost for pubs
Pubs will see their business rates cut and licensing rules relaxed under a new support package aimed at reviving high streets and protecting local community hubs. What’s changing and what does it mean for the trade?
The Chancellor has announced a package that she expects to save the average pub an extra £1,650 in 2026/27, with around three‑quarters of pubs seeing their business rates bills fall or stay flat next year. The measures include a 15% cut to new business rates bills from April, followed by a two‑year real‑terms freeze, alongside a review of how pubs are valued for rates. However, this discount applies to the rates as calculated under the rerated value from 1 April 2026, so businesses whose values will increase significantly will still see increased bills.
The government will also pilot a new High Street Strategy to support retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, and consult on loosening planning rules so pubs can add guest rooms or expand trading space more easily. A £10 million Hospitality Support Fund over three years will help more than 1,000 pubs offer extra community services, such as cafes, village stores and play areas, and support people furthest from the labour market into hospitality jobs.
Licensing rules will be temporarily relaxed so pubs and other venues can open after midnight for Home Nations’ matches in the later stages of this summer’s Men’s FIFA World Cup, with a consultation to follow on similar extensions for major events such as Eurovision. The government also plans to legislate to increase the number of temporary events pubs can hold to screen matches or host community and cultural events.
The package builds on a wider £4.3 billion support programme for business rates, including a cap on bill increases from April and a permanent 5p cut in the business rates multiplier for over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, funded by a higher rate for the top 1% of properties. Grassroots live music venues that operate as pubs will also be included in the new reliefs, though business rates remain a devolved matter and it will be for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations to decide whether to match the support.
Related Topics
-
ATED filing deadline approaching for 2026/27
Companies holding high-value UK residential property need to ensure their annual tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED) returns are filed by the end of April. With the deadline approaching, what do you need to do?
-
HMRC to contact representatives over NI refunds for deceased taxpayers
HMRC has updated its guidance to confirm that it will write to representatives of deceased individuals where it believes too much NI has been paid. What should you expect if you receive such a letter?
-
Free childcare for company owners?
You’re an owner manager and your daughter is due to start nursery. You understand that working parents can get free childcare but a friend said this isn’t available if you only pay yourself dividends. Is this true and what can you do to qualify?
This website uses both its own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and navigation on our website in order to improve its contents (analytical purposes: measure visits and sources of web traffic). The legal basis is the consent of the user, except in the case of basic cookies, which are essential to navigate this website.