Did you hear that collective exhale echoing from pub cellars and live music venues across England last week?
That was when Prime Minister Andy Burnham officially announced a £100 million push to save the high street, headlining a headline-grabbing 20% cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues across the country.
As someone who spends half his life staring at crippling overhead spreadsheets, let me say this loudly: Thank you, Prime Minister. We’ll take the money.
A 20% discount on business rates is no small change.
For an independent pub or neighbourhood venue operating on razor-thin margins, knocking a fifth off one of your largest fixed overheads is genuinely meaningful.
Saving an estimated £1,000 a year per venue can be the difference between surviving winter and handing the keys back to the landlord.
- Don’t pocket the savings – reinvest in your margin: Do not use this tax relief to lower your drink prices in a race to the bottom. Take that saved cash and deploy it directly into staff retention, training or menu engineering that trims waste and protects your gross margin.
- Keep shouting for the VAT cut: This business rates relief is a welcome first step but it is a fraction of what a VAT reduction to 10% would do for the sector. Don’t let politicians off the hook just because they handed us a small snippet of relief.
Matt Harris – Founder of Planet of the Grapes
Matt started his Food & Beverage journey aged 19 working at Thresher’s in Brixton. With a WSET diploma in wine and spirits under his belt, he went on to establish wine merchants Planet of the Grapes in 2004. Now – at the ripe old age of 52 – Matt’s empire includes multiple venues around London including bars in Leadenhall Market and East Dulwich as well as restaurant Fox Fine Wines & Spirits at London Wall.
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