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Burnham slashes business rates bills for pubs, clubs and live music venues

ended 23. July 2026

Andy Burnham has taken action to cut business rates bills for pubs, social clubs and live music venues across England from April next year, it has been announced.

New business rate cuts will benefit nearly 32,000 pubs, clubs and live music venues, saving the typical pub an estimated £1,100 in the next financial year, providing much-needed certainty for businesses looking to invest, grow and create jobs. 

Today’s changes will be fully funded, including through reviewing reliefs for businesses that do not make a positive contribution to local communities, such as vape shops. 

The Government will also crack down on businesses that sell through online marketplaces but do not comply with their tax obligations, putting them at an unfair advantage over businesses that play by the rules. 

The Government is consulting on measures to make online marketplaces more responsible for preventing non-compliant sellers from avoiding their tax obligations and further detail will be set out in due course. Revenue raised from these reforms will be reinvested in improvements to the business rates system.

  • What is your reaction to this announcement? Is it good news for businesses?
  • What is your reaction to how it will be funded?
  • Is Burnham's decisions in his first week positive or negative?

Responses asap.

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Harry GoodliffeVerified
Director at HTG Mortgages
Rearranging the huge tax burden and calling it economic growth, but it’s great to see the high street finally getting attention after years. Pubs and music venues deserve support after years of pressure, but Britain's biggest problem is still weak growth and high taxes. If one business gets relief only because another pays more, we're simply moving money around. The real test of Burnham's agenda will be whether it makes it easier to start, grow and invest in businesses across the economy, not just a chosen few.
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Michelle LawsonVerified
Director at Lawson Financial
Unfunded giveaways can be a worry as they all get paid from somewhere. Whilst anything is welcomed, it’s not going to save the hospitality industry just like that. The damage on rising rates, goods, wages and the general cost of living are all a compounded problem. Sorting the root cause will always solve the issues at a higher level.
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Editor
Harvey DhillonVerified
Founder & CEO at Zmartly
Good news for pubs, yes, but it is a round on the house that will not be poured until April 2027. The 20 per cent rates cut for nearly 32,000 pubs, clubs and live music venues in England is worth an estimated £1,100 to the typical pub, about £21 a week. It is not yet law, the very largest live music venues are excluded, and the detail is held back for the Budget. On the funding, it is paid for on paper. The question is who pays. Chasing online sellers who do not pay the tax they owe is fair: they undercut everyone who plays by the rules. But reviewing reliefs for businesses like vape shops means one high street trader pays for another. So the first week points the right way: pubs and venues needed the help, but an announcement is not delivery. My advice to any pub is simple: budget on the 15 per cent relief announced in January for your 2026/27 bill. Treat the 20 per cent as a promise, not money in the till.