Public house owners have encountered significantly increased business rates bills starting April 2026. To help mitigate these hikes, the government has introduced a 15% discount for the current year and recently announced a 20% discount for 2027/28.
These elevated business rates are a result of a revaluation and the cessation of Covid-related relief measures.
Who is eligible?
For the year 2025/26, retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses in England were eligible for a 40% discount on their business rates. However, the new 15% and 20% discounts are more limited, applying only to public houses, clubs, and live music venues. These discounts can be combined with any other available reliefs.
Unsurprisingly, owners of restaurants, cafés, and hotels have expressed disappointment over their exclusion from these recent discounts.
Additionally, larger live music venues will not be eligible for the 20% discount, with more information expected to be provided in the Autumn Budget.
Approximately 32,000 public houses, clubs, and live music venues are anticipated to benefit from the 15% and 20% discounts, with the average public house projected to save £1,100 in 2027/28.
For the year 2026/27, Scotland has implemented a 15% discount for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses, while Wales offers a similar discount for food and drink hospitality establishments.
Support for small businesses
In England, properties with a rateable value under £12,000 are eligible for 100% relief, with tapered relief available for those valued up to £15,000. Most English properties that have lost the retail, hospitality, and leisure discount qualify for the Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR) scheme. The calculations can be complex; for instance, the business rates increase for 2026/27 for a property with a rateable value between £20,001 (£28,001 in London) and £100,000 is capped at the greater of £800 or 15%. Similar caps are also in place for 2027/28 and 2028/29.
However, for public houses, clubs and live music venues, their business rates bill will only increase by inflation for 2027/28 and 2028/29, with the newly announced 20% discount in addition to this cap.
Details of the 15% discount for 2026/27 can be found here.