Landlords across the country have urged the government to overhaul business rates and reduce VAT for the pub sector, after data revealed 161 venues had closed during the first quarter of this year, with a further 2,300 predicted to shut permanently without additional support. The queue to the No 10 door of the soon to be crowned PM Andy Burnham is getting longer.
The latest data from the British Beer and Pub Association has predicted that 2,300 pubs could close permanently without urgent action to reform business rates and reduce VAT, with landlords across the country calling for greater support from government.
Though the Treasury cut rates by 15 percent this year and announced a two-year freeze as of 2027, the number of venues closing each day remains high, with 161 pubs going out of business during the first quarter of 2026.
“We need more help from the Government,” Robbie Gill, director of The Rose in west London, told The Express. “To make the business model work, it needs to be profitable. Every year that goes on, it gets less and less profitable.”
“For us there’s one clear solution: the VAT needs to come down. In France, Germany, the VAT is less. In the UK, it’s 20 percent which is way higher.”
The general manager of The Trafalgar, Ethan Glackin-McColgan, also highlighted the impact of rising bills, noting “every energy bill I get goes up and up and up. There’s no relief schemes for businesses and hospitality – particularly when you’re on the high street like us.”
Jazz Cunningham, GM of The Sporting Page, acknowledged the occasional support from the Treasury, but called for a long-term solution to stop the rising tide of closures.
“The Government likes to tell people they’re helping pubs by giving us late licences during the World Cup – that’s great, but reduce the taxes, make beer cheaper – that would help us more,” he said. “Instead of helping us for one month in the year, help us for more.”
Responding to the comments, a Treasury spokesperson highlighted the business rates freeze and the recent £10m extension to the Hospitality Support Fund, adding “this comes on top of capping corporation tax, cutting alcohol duty on draught pints and six cuts in interest rates, benefiting businesses in every part of Britain.”
However, BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin stated that without fundamental reform to rates and VAT, thousands more pubs are likely to face closure, dealing a “devastating blow to communities, jobs and local economies.”
Pubs losing hope as VAT takes it all
Publican said……. “We need more help from the Government. To make the business model work, it needs to be profitable. Every year that goes on, it gets less and less profitable……
