Despite innumerable calls for the government to support hospitality, its latest Budget fell far short in what it could have done, says UK Hospitality chair Kate Nicholls. 

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The sector was looking to the chancellor to deliver some clear support for our bars and hospitality.

We could not have made our voice clearer or louder in the run-up. Our #TaxedOut campaign was heard at the heart of government, with countless meetings with ministers, hundreds of meetings with MPs at hospitality venues, and thousands of pieces of media coverage piling the pressure on.

Unfortunately, what was delivered in the Budget for hospitality will simply not be enough to offset the many costs hitting our sector. The big announcement for hospitality was a permanently lower business rates multiplier for the sector, with the intention to rebalance the high street against online giants.

That, in itself, is a positive thing, and this type of reform was secured after decades of campaigning by UK Hospitality.

The chancellor had legal powers to provide hospitality businesses with a 20p discount to the multiplier – but instead chose to only provide 5p. She could have gone four times as far – delivering real benefit and lower business rates.

Unfortunately, that level of discount hardly scratches the surface. Particularly when new rateable values published after the Budget present a stark challenge: businesses are seeing as much as 100% increases in their rateable value.

That kind of uplift isn’t a minor bill increase. For many independent bars operating on tight margins, this could be a deciding factor between staying open and scaling back.

A small discount, no matter how well intentioned, does not compensate for this sharp rise. That’s why we were calling so vociferously for the maximum 20p discount – that would have been enough of a shift to genuinely deliver lower bills.

It’s not just business rates. Across the sector we face a combination of rising pressures: larger wage bills prompted by increases to the minimum wage, rising employer National Insurance contributions, higher energy costs and ongoing inflation. These are not one-off shocks – they are persistent pressures.

Community hubs

Margins continue to be squeezed relentlessly. Some bars are cutting staff hours, while others are postponing investment or reducing opening hours. Some may not survive.

Our bars are more than just businesses – they are community hubs. They employ young people, carers, locals looking for part-time work. They give character to high streets, provide social gathering points and support supply chains, from drinks distributors to local suppliers. We need to support these venues, not tax them out of existence.

The Budget was a chance to reset the balance for hospitality. Instead, the high street was disproportionately hit, once again. Our bars are central to what makes the UK’s hospitality scene one of the best in the world, as well as being central to the economy, jobs market and local communities.

When bars disappear, so does much of what makes a high street vibrant. For independent operators, for their teams, for local economies, the stakes could not be higher. We continue to work with ministers, MPs, policymakers and industry stakeholders to press for solutions, but this is urgent. The pressures are already here.

We need the government to recognise the disproportionate cost burden our sector is bearing in comparison to the rest of the economy, and take urgent action reduce the cost of doing business.