The government has announced a new 15% business rates relief for pubs and live music venues for the next three years, representing a partial u‑turn on earlier plans to scale back support for hospitality.
This is a targeted, time‑limited, measure that sits alongside wider changes to the business rates system introduced in the 2025 Budget and due to take full effect this April.
The 15% business rates discount for eligible pubs and live music venues is for three years - on top of existing support available through the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme. Press reports indicate that the measure will be worth around £100m pa to the sector, with support expected to run through to the next scheduled revaluation in 2029. According to the government, the relief will apply in England (and, based on current reporting, Wales), working through the business rates system rather than as a direct grant.
Key takeaways:
- Pubs and qualifying live music venues can expect an additional 15% rates reduction for three years, partially offsetting increases driven by revaluation and the tapering of pandemic‑era reliefs.
- Wider hospitality and high‑street sectors remain exposed to scheduled increases as temporary reliefs unwind, making business rates forecasting and mitigation increasingly important in medium‑term planning.
- The intervention is time‑limited and targeted rather than a structural reform, so businesses should not assume similar support will be extended automatically to other sectors or beyond the next revaluation cycle.
Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: “This support is worth £1,650 for the average pub just next year, and will mean that around three-quarters of pubs will see their bills either fall or stay the same next year.” He added that three-quarters of pubs would see their rates bill fall or stay the same next year, and rates across the sector as a whole would be lower in 2028-29 than they are now.
UK media have been quick to characterise the announcement as a partial u‑turn, following earlier plans to wind down pandemic‑era discounts and expose pubs to sharp increases in their rates bills. The relief is explicitly framed as sector‑specific, with ministers stressing that pubs face distinct pressures compared with other parts of hospitality.
Under measures announced in the Autumn Budget and subsequent guidance, the government had already set out a tapering of RHL relief, reducing discounts on business rates bills from 75% during the later pandemic period to 40% for 2025/26, ahead of removing that temporary relief entirely, from April 2026. At the same time, new Rateable Values (RVs) from the first post‑pandemic revaluation, due to take effect from April, were expected to push up bills significantly across the hospitality sector.
Industry analysts suggested that, taken together, higher RVs and the scheduled withdrawal of reliefs would have resulted in average rates bill increases of around 76% for pubs and 115% for hotels over three years. Trade bodies, including UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association, warned of widespread closures and job losses if no intervention was made. The new 15% relief follows weeks of intense lobbying by pub operators, industry bodies and MPs who argued that the original business rates plan underestimated the impact on community pubs.
In public comments, Chancellor Rachel Reeves also acknowledged the “particular challenge pubs face”. The resulting package has been seen as an attempt to rebalance support without reopening the entire business rates framework for hospitality.
Winners & Losers?
The new relief is targeted specifically at pubs and live music venues, rather than the wider hospitality sector. Restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses will continue to rely on the existing RHL relief and general transitional arrangements unless further measures are announced.
As with other reliefs, detailed eligibility will be set out in guidance and is expected to be administered via local authorities through the business rates system.
Trade bodies are highlighting concerns that support is limited to one segment of hospitality, leaving other operators facing steep increases as transitional caps unwind. Some have welcomed recognition of the social and economic value of pubs, whilst simultaneously arguing that a temporary, sector‑specific discount does not address underlying issues with the business rates regime for high‑street businesses.
For any businesses that could or are affected by these changes,
get in touch with Dunlop Heywood for expert, impartial advice.
See the full eligibility criteria here: Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief - GOV.UK
