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.
Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of Greene King (Greene King/PA)
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
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Are arms firms or constituents the priority for our MPs?
The UK Government had announced it would be making the Conservative Party's ban on puberty blockers for trans youth a permanent fixture of Labour's 'changed' Britain and I had hoped to discuss it with my elected representative. I suspected the entire thing would be an exercise in frustration but I was at least curious to know just how much of a waste of time it would be. And in that sense, Glasgow South MP Gordon McKee did not disappoint. McKee represents an area of Scotland with one of the largest queer and trans demographics in the nation. As the MP for that area, I hoped McKee would be willing to engage with the worries my community had with his party. READ MORE: UK Government draining aid budget with 'broken' asylum hotels policy, watchdog warns Beyond an automated response confirming that my email had been received, my first message went unanswered. I followed up a month later. Then again another month after that. And once more in March. But then, a sign from on high! Lo, a leaflet came through my letterbox from the man himself. McKee, it seemed, held regular surgeries. And although there was no actual information on when or where they were going to be held, here was an option to speak to him. So I asked to meet my MP to discuss the matter in person, and a few days later I had my first response. I was offered a chance to speak for 15 minutes with two caseworkers over Teams. OK. It was around this point that I finally received a response to my earlier emails – three months after they were sent. After a little brag about Labour's investment in the NHS, McKee got down to business: the Labour Government, I was informed, has to follow the evidence, including the findings of the infamous Cass Review commissioned by the previous Conservative government. It didn't seem to matter that the Cass Review had not, in fact, recommended banning puberty blockers for trans young people, nor that the report has been ripped to shreds through peer review over unsound methodology and more. After months of waiting, months of watching the situation in the UK deteriorate further and further for trans people, I had been sent a carefully prepared statement delivered en masse to all who had raised concerns about Labour's attacks on the LGBTQ+ community – and it was still wrong. So I asked if McKee would be willing to meet a group of trans constituents to discuss their concerns, giving him a chance to listen to and understand the people in his community who were angry or even afraid at the direction Labour were taking under Keir Starmer's failing right-wing leadership. My request was met with further silence. However, I was finally offered a chance to finally speak to McKee – for 15 minutes, with less than 24 hours' notice for the following weekday. I was also asked for details of the group that wanted to meet with McKee. Before I had a chance to provide anything, the offer was rescinded. READ MORE: Labour council takes no action against councillor who grabbed Gaza protester by neck According to a caseworker, McKee was too busy focusing on issues such as homelessness (even though the primary responsibility for homelessness lies with local councils, not MPs). Instead, he would respond to the issues I had raised in my previous emails. I did not receive a response to my previous emails. Nor the next ones I sent. But after more following up, I was offered a solo surgery date four weeks later. It took five months, but I finally had the chance to speak to my MP. It was a complete waste of time. Face to face, I asked repeatedly if McKee would commit to meeting properly with a group of trans constituents to talk about the current dire situation being inflamed by his party – and the answer was no. I was told that if anyone had an issue, they could reach out to Gordon individually (emails to be sent to and he would be able to help on that basis – though the five months of ignored emails and U-turns to organise a 15-minute discussion would really suggest otherwise. Getting a straight answer to any question I asked proved almost as difficult as getting the meeting in the first place. READ MORE: Why is the BBC not talking about Scottish concerns? I was reminded of this exchange last week when I saw McKee pop up on the Sunday National's list of MPs running a cross-party group looking to 'partner' with defence firms, to give them exclusive access to Westminster MPs and policy makers for as little as £1499. It took nearly six months for my MP to meet me, but now I see my error. If only I had been an arms firm with cash to spare, maybe the process could have been expedited somewhat. In the scheme of things, my experience is not the worst by any measure. But it is a story being told the length of the United Kingdom on a daily basis. We are treated with absolute contempt by the British political class, who will cosy up to arms firms while proscribing people who take action against them as terrorists. Politicians will attack your rights, your welfare and your freedom while thumbing their nose at even the suggestion of accountability. I doubt McKee is any worse than his colleagues, but isn't that just the greatest indictment of the political establishment he represents?
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Business news live: Rachel Reeves to address taxes and pensions in Mansion House speech
Tuesday brings Rachel Reeves ' Mansion House speech, with the chancellor expected to delve into pension reform and plenty more besides. There has been a push in some quarters for the chancellor to rip up fiscal rules limiting spending, which has been rejected by the government, and to bring in a wealth tax, which has not. It's not expected that ISAs will be a key focus now, with reform expected to wait until further discussions have taken place, but tax changes for businesses may still be on the agenda along with other initiatives as the government chases economic growth. Elsewhere, bitcoin has hit new highs of late and the FTSE 100 performed well on Monday - in contrast to other places in the stock market as tariff threats continue and a deal between the US and the EU appears no closer.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Row over ScotGov failure to track jobs supported by public millions
The Scottish Government says it does not have data on the number of manufacturing jobs created in the past five years - which includes public investment made to bus maker Alexander Dennis - which is planning to move production to England endangering 400 Scottish jobs. And ministers are being further questioned about how the Scottish Government's Green Industrial Strategy, published in September 2024, contains no reference to bus manufacturing in Scotland. Last month, Alexander Dennis announced it was considering relocating production from its Larbert and Camelon sites near Falkirk to Scarborough in North Yorkshire, citing cost-cutting reasons. Union representatives have said the move could endanger approximately 400 Scottish jobs. This news follows the loss of more than 400 jobs just a few miles away in Grangemouth, where the local oil refinery recently closed and was converted into an import terminal. READ MORE from Martin Williams: Swinney got year-long warning England-bound bus firm was 'reconsidering' Scotland FM in funding row as £90m public cash for Scots jobs given to firm going to England Union says 1600 Scots jobs at risk if government doesn't act in 'national interest' The Herald revealed that nearly £90m of public money gone to Alexander Dennis to support Scottish jobs over ten years before it embarked on plan to move operations to England. According to Scottish Government records, ADL received £58m of public 'subsidy' for green vehicles since 2020 under two schemes aimed at transitioning Scotland to green buses - despite the company having embarked on a 2020 plan to axe a third of its Scottish workforce. And some £30m of jobs grants for research and development over 10 years has come from the Scottish Government's economic development agency Scottish Enterprise. Some £11.2m of those jobs grants from Scottish Enterprise came in 2023, three years after concerns were raised over ADL embarking on major job cuts in 2020. A bus on the Alexander Dennis pipeline in Falkirk By the time the 2020 jobs cut was in place ADL had already received over £8m in 'job securing' taxpayer funding which was promoted as supporting building a new greener business in Scotland. Former community safety minister Ash Regan who has been quizzing ministers about the number of manufacturing jobs created as a result of public and private investment - was told that neither the Scottish Government or Scottish Enterprise held the information. She was told in as response that details on analysis on how Scotland has performed in terms of attracting investment in key sectors was available from an survey carried out by consultants EY. Alba's Edinburgh Eastern MSP said: 'The Scottish Government should be tracking investment across the country so that we can ensure that we are committing the right resources to where they are needed most to maximise benefit for Scotland. Their failure to do so leaves inward investors and SMEs with a postcode lottery to secure the support of the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise. 'A national effort is needed to reverse the manufacturing decline of the past decades and ensure that every community in Scotland gets the right investment to create opportunities, ensuring that good jobs are on the doorstep of all Scots." Last week, Fife-based bus manufacturer has made 81 employees redundant after it entered administration. Workers at Greenfold Systems Ltd in Dunfermline were previously put on notice of potential job losses as a knock-on effect of bus company Alexander Dennis planning to pull out of Scotland. Around half the staff on site were working on parts for the Larbert-based company. And analysis from the Robert Gordon University last month has warned that the oil and gas industry could lose up to 400 jobs every two weeks for the next five years unless action is taken. It says that the UK risks losing tens of thousands of offshore energy jobs by 2030 unless urgent and coordinated action is taken immediately. It is estimated that 43% of the UK's oil and gas jobs are in Scotland. Ash Regan (Image: PA) Ms Regan added: "It seems that there isn't a week that goes by without another blow to Scotland's manufacturing capacity. Whether it's the closure of our only refinery, bus manufacturers or a scale back of the oil and gas industry. Scotland desperately needs an industrial strategy to create and sustain high quality jobs for today and build the skillsets and infrastructure for the emergent industries of tomorrow. 'Inward investment is key to keeping and creating quality jobs in Scotland, by securing our remaining industries. Yet, inward investment alone cannot create and sustain Scotland as the economic powerhouse we should aspire to be. We must also invest in infrastructure for connectivity and support the boundless potential of Scotland's Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) - the economic backbone that drives profits back into Scotland. " The Scottish Government was accused of "strategic neglect" after the Herald revealed the extent of support Alexander Dennis has had - while the First Minister was warned last year that it was "reconsidering" its "entire investment" in Scotland. The SNP-led Scottish Government and the Labour-led UK Government agreed to establish a joint working group to discuss options to find a solution and avert job losses. They are looking at how far they 'can push' the UK 'state aid' rules set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 to create a support package to save the 400 jobs. Alexander Dennis have said that they are engaging with both governments "in good faith ". Unions have previously warned that "time is running out" on the company before a request for an extension on consultation over jobs to August 15 was granted, while the Scottish Parliament is in recess until August 31. Meanwhile, Colin Smyth, convener of the Scottish Parliament's economy committee has asked the finance secretary Shona Robison, what the Scottish Government's view is on maintaining domestic manufacturing capacity in the bus sector. It came as the Green Industrial Strategy failed to reference bus manufacturing He told her: "Given the strategic importance of Alexander Dennis, the high quality of its workforce and the role of manufacturing in Scotland's future economy, it is vital that every possible action is taken to retain manufacturing, and the jobs it provides." He added: Ministers must act with urgency and ambition to help keep these jobs and avoid a world-class manufacturer shutting its doors in Scotland." Deputy first minister Kate Forbes said:'Scotland has a high value, high quality manufacturing sector that supports 178,000 jobs across the country and accounts for more than half of Scotland's international exports. In 2023 it contributed £18.1 billion in GVA to Scotland's economy. 'Significant strategic work takes place across the public sector to achieve this investment in our manufacturing base: Scottish Enterprise helped create or safeguard nearly 5,000 manufacturing jobs in 2024-25. The latest EY Annual Attractiveness Survey results meanwhile show that Scotland secured its largest share of manufacturing inward investment coming into the UK in 2024 – securing more than a fifth all UK projects. 'Scottish Development International, the international division representing all three enterprise agencies, ensures inward investment is made in the best location with the appropriate support package to establish new business, jobs and opportunities in the country.' The Scottish Government said that Ms Regan did not specifically request data relating to the number of manufacturing jobs in Scotland created through public money. But it has been argued that publicly funded investment was cleared implied by the question.
