£100 million support package announced for pubs and clubs
Announced today: Live music venues and clubs will join pubs in receiving a 20% cut to their business rates. 32,000 businesses are expected to see a saving.
This business rates cut will benefit 32,000 pubs, clubs and live music venues.
It is estimated a typical pub will save £1,100 in the next financial year.
This package of support is worth around £100 million a year.
This package will not replace existing relief, such as the 2025 5p cut in business rate multipliers, or the 15% relief for pubs in the 2026 financial year. Today’s 20% business rates cut is on top of existing relief.
The 20% business rate cut is due to take action from April next year.
NDML is delighted to see this intervention be announced, especially so quickly after Andy Burnham’s appointment to the post of PM. This saving, although not hugely impactful for many of our clients, is a step in the right direction for clubs and pubs, and shows a desired intention from the nation’s leadership. Also, committing £100 million per year to the policy opens the door for meaningful relief.
We await the details of the policy, the limitations of businesses permitted the saving, and what is meant by “the new 20% discount will not be available to the very largest live music venues.” Currently it is understood that all of the late night hospitality sector, including restaurants, bars, nightclubs and grassroots music venues will be included in this business rates cut – the only exclusion being arenas and stadiums.
This action has come as part of a series of measures put in place by the Prime Minister upon his appointment. The measures are focussed on working people, from reducing energy bills to £2 bus fares. The intention is to improve the cost of living, and the cost of going out – and for businesses in such a financially precarious position, as are many in the nightlife sector, every little helps.
Andy Burnham on his Facebook page published:
“I’m giving thousands of pubs, clubs and music venues a 20% cut in business rates. I won’t stand by while these cherished local spaces disappear, replaced by boarded-up windows and ‘For Sale’ signs. They’re the heart of our communities and it’s time we backed them.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been quoted on Gov.uk:
“For too long, governments have stood by while cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets. So today I am changing that.
“This government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities. I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do. What we’re announcing today is just the start as we work to bring back hope across the country.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey quoted:
“Pubs, clubs and live music venues are at the heart of communities across the UK. They help make a place what we love. They bring people together, support local jobs and help keep high streets and town centres busy — which is why we will back them all the way.”
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, published on LinkedIn:
“The inclusion of clubs alongside pubs and live-music venues is particularly important and demonstrates a broader recognition of the vital economic, cultural and social contribution made by the night-time economy.
“The announcement of a 20% business-rates reduction across England from April next year is a significant and welcome intervention… This has the potential to provide meaningful relief to businesses facing sustained cost pressures.
“This is the third major policy announcement in as many days from the new government. Together, these interventions have undoubtedly begun to shift confidence across the sector and created renewed optimism that our concerns are being heard… The government is undoubtedly making the right noises.”
How is the business rates cut going to be funded?
Many of Andy Burnham initial promises after coming into office have seen scrutiny concerning how they will be funded. For years, ever since Labour’s majority victory in 2024, we have been told the Government are tightening their nation’s belt. Indeed, when Andy announced a VAT cut to energy bills, he was quick to note how it would be funded – through the cancellation of the Digital ID programme.
Hence the business rates cut for pubs and clubs will be funded be increased rates placed upon what Andy calls ‘non-positive’ businesses. These ‘non-positive’ businesses are understood as vape shops, and also businesses that sell online to dodge tax obligations.
Additionally by combating non-compliance, fining perpetrators and enforcing tax payments for online marketplace sellers, Andy’s government will reinvest this gained revenue back into business rates system.
Does the cut to business rates replace the existing relief bill?
The existing relief for pubs and live music venues include the 5p cut in rates multipliers, announced at the 2025 Budget – also the rateable values revaluation cap, capping rateable value increases at 15% – and additionally the 15% relief for 2026, with bills frozen for two years.
The business rates cut announced today will be on top of the current relief available.