Government needs to overhaul ‘unfair' business rates, says Greene King boss
It comes days after figures from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) pointed towards a surge in pub closures due to heightened financial pressures.
The body estimated that 378 pubs will close this year across England, Wales and Scotland after increased stress on the industry so far this year. It said this would amount to more than 5,600 direct job losses.
Industry bosses have said easing business rates could help support some pub businesses currently at threat of future closure.
Mr Mackenzie said the current system of business rates is 'unfair' on the sector, focusing on revenues rather than profitability, which has heavily diminished across pubs in recent years amid sharp increases in operating costs.
'Pubs are going to be around for the long term, but we need to address the unfairness in the system to allow them to flourish,' he said.
'It isn't fair that the sector has 0.4% of the rateable property but pay 2.1% of the bills.
'The sector is a massive employer and incredibly important for local communities, so we just feel it is important to underline how beneficial it is to tax pubs fairly.'
Greene King is among pub firms to have said recent cost increases, such as the rise in National Insurance contributions and the higher national minimum wage, have caused them to pull back on some investment plans.
Mr Mackenzie said Greene King would secure £13.7 million in annual savings to be invested in its pubs with reforms to business rates.
The firm is asking Chancellor Rachel Reeves to introduce a specific, lower business rates multiplier for all pubs at the Autumn Budget, giving them a 20p discount on their current rate.
It is also asking the Government to change how the Valuation Office Agency calculates the rateable value of a pub at the 2026 revaluation.
The Labour Government has previously said it plans to reform business rates to 'create a fairer system'.
It came as the company released its Growth on Tap report on reforming tax policy in the sector, which highlighted that its pubs are facing significant business rate increases due to a recent reduction in discounts for the sector.
'The Government has made growth its number one priority, and the Chancellor now has the opportunity to make changes that will immediately unlock millions of pounds to do just this,' Mr Mackenzie said.
'We will be able to go even further and faster with our investments – creating new jobs, refurbishing pubs and breathing life back into communities up and down the country.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
15 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Small boat migrants will be allowed to keep their phones, minister says
Migrants who arrive in Britain on small boats will be able to keep their mobile phones, a minister has said. Dame Angela Eagle, a Home Office minister, said the Government 'doesn't want absolutely every phone' from those who cross the Channel. Ministers unveiled a plan in January to crack down on people-smuggling by allowing Border Force and immigration enforcement to compel new arrivals to hand over their devices. The proposal in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill was aimed at helping investigators to identify and track down people-smugglers organising Channel crossings. It would reverse a High Court ruling last year, which said the Home Office had been unlawfully operating a blanket policy of seizing phones from people arriving on small boats. Officials were found to not have parliamentary authority to extract data from phones or retain the devices. Doing so had meant those affected were unable to contact family members or access documentation. Dame Angela said the Home Office would not be seeking the phones of every migrant who arrived on a small boat. She told Times Radio: 'The Bill, which is in the House of Lords at the moment, will enable us to target those that we think are facilitating. 'So we don't want absolutely every phone, but we do want the phones of the people that we think are organising and facilitating, and this extra money will enable us to do much quicker analytics of the phones that we seize. 'But of course, we've got to get the Border Security Bill on the statute book to give us those extra powers.' The Home Office has announced that an extra £100m will be spent on tackling people-smuggling, as protests outside asylum hotels continue across the country. Some of the money will support the 'one in, one out' returns agreement pilot with France, and some will go towards funding extended police powers to seize digital devices. Demonstrators outside hotels in London, Newcastle and Epping in Essex have called for the sites not to be used to house migrants. Asked on Sky News what her message was to protesters, Dame Angela said: 'Anger doesn't get you anywhere. 'What we have to do is recognise the values we have in this country, the rule of law we have in this country, the work we're doing with the police to protect people. 'We will close asylum hotels by the end of the Parliament. We'll do it faster if we can.' Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said that 'the public's patience with the asylum hotels and with the whole issue of illegal migration has snapped'.
Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
Bangladesh vows democratic renewal on first anniversary of Hasina's overthrow
DHAKA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of exultant Bangladeshis gathered in Dhaka on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of mass protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina, as the interim government unveiled a road map for democratic reform with a national election next year. Rallies, concerts, and prayer sessions were held in the capital as people celebrated what they called a "second liberation". The events culminated with Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus reading out the "July Declaration", which seeks to give constitutional recognition to the 2024 student-led uprising in response to repression and economic hardship that forced Hasina, then prime minister, to flee to India on August 5. "The people of Bangladesh express their desire that the student-people uprising of 2024 will get proper state and constitutional recognition," said Yunus, who heads the interim government installed after Hasina's fall, as representatives of political parties looked on. "The July Declaration will feature in the schedule of the reformed constitution as framed by the government formed through the next national election,' he said. Supporters see the charter as a foundation for institutional reform; critics say its impact could be largely symbolic in the absence of a legal framework or parliamentary consensus. Yunus said he would ask the election commission to organise national elections to be held in February 2026. "We must ensure that no future government can become fascist again. The state must be repaired in such a way that whenever signs of fascism are found anywhere, it can be eradicated immediately," he said. Political parties, particularly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, have urged that elections be held before the end of 2025 to avoid a political vacuum. Yunus said next year's election could be peaceful, fair and transparent. While Hasina's Awami League remains suspended, many believe it should be allowed to participate — despite its top leadership facing prosecution for alleged human rights violations during last year's protests. "Fallen autocrats and their self-serving allies remain active,", Yunus said, urging unity to protect the gains of the uprising while his government holds talks with political parties and civil society. His government had already launched sweeping reforms while trials for those responsible for the "July killings" of 2024 were progressing swiftly, he said. Crowds waving flags, holding placards, and chanting slogans gathered near parliament, including some who had been injured in the protests. "On this day in 2024, the tyrant Sheikh Hasina fled the country," said Ahmedul Hasan. was here last year too. I've come again to remember that moment and join the celebrations." Others were less exuberant. "Even after all the bloodshed and sacrifice, a truly liberal democracy in Bangladesh still feels like a distant dream," said Sabbir Ahmed, a college student who joined the protests last year. Police were on alert throughout the capital, with armoured vehicles on patrol to deter any attempt by the Awami League to disrupt events. "Let this anniversary not be a day of retrospection, but a rallying cry for a brighter tomorrow," Hasina said in an open letter to the people of Bangladesh, adding that she had never resigned as prime minister. "Bangladesh has overcome adversity before, and we will rise again, stronger, more united, and more determined to build a democracy that truly serves its people," she said.
The Herald Scotland
31 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Kate Forbes on exiting Holyrood: hear her story at Unspun Live
This Thursday, on August 7th, she'll take the Dissection Room stage in Summerhall at The Herald's Unspun Live as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe, tasked by our political editor Andrew Learmonth and provided with questions from our audience. Tickets for Unspun Live at the Fringe are £18, but our readers can take advantage of a special 2-for-1 offer. Buy them here through the Summerhall website using 'UNSPUN' in the promotion code box. It is a fascinating time to get the Deputy First Minister's perspective, with Forbes saying she will not stand at next year's Holyrood election. In a post on social media, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch said that after "careful thought" over Summer, she had "decided not to seek re-election" but would "continue to serve the First Minister, the Government and my constituents to the best of my ability until May 2026". In a letter to the First Minister, Forbes – whose daughter Naomi turns three this month – said she did not want to "miss any more of the precious early years of family life". Forbes is the fourth of four high-profile guests joining The Herald's Unspun Live at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 🎟️ Book now for The Herald's Unspun Live at the Edinburgh Fringe – featuring John Swinney, Anas Sarwar, Kate Forbes and more Audiences have already heard from Professor Sir John Curtice, but be sure not to miss First Minister [[John Swinney]] and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, respectively. Forbes is a skilled debater with a reputation for straight-talking, but how will she handle not having a say in the future of a party she helped to carry? Come along to Summerhall and find out.
