Business Rates Reform – Targeted relief, wider disparities?

When Andy Burnham took office on 20 July 2026, he announced only three days later that pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England would receive a 20% reduction in their business rates bills from 1 April 2027. The Government has not announced an end date for the measure and has described the package as being worth around £100 million a year. However, the detailed rules have not yet been published and are expected at the Autumn Budget, so businesses should not assume that the relief will continue indefinitely or remain unchanged.

The new 20% reduction follows a separate 15% relief for pubs and live music venues for the 2026/27 financial year. The Government has stated that the 20% reduction will come on top of existing support, including the lower retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) multipliers. A qualifying pub may therefore benefit from the relevant lower RHL multiplier when its initial liability is calculated and then from the targeted percentage reduction, subject to the final scheme rules.

Eligibility will be important. The Government has confirmed that the measure is intended for pubs, social clubs and live music venues, but has not yet published the full qualifying criteria. It has said that the very largest live music venues will not receive the new discount, with further details to be set out at the Budget. Until those rules are available, operators of mixed-use or borderline premises should avoid assuming that they will qualify.

This was followed by the launch of an independent governmental review of the valuation methodologies used to assess pubs and hotels for business rates purposes. Led by Jerry Schurder, the review will consider whether the existing approaches remain fair and identify opportunities for improvement. Businesses, trade bodies, valuation professionals and other interested parties have been invited to make submissions by 16 October 2026, with recommendations expected by the end of March 2027.

The wider hospitality and leisure sector

The 20% reduction will be welcome news for qualifying pubs, social clubs and live music venues, while the independent valuation review is a positive development for pubs and hotels. However, there is no indication that comparable additional relief will be extended to restaurants, hotels or the wider hospitality and leisure sector.

The temporary 40% RHL relief ended on 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026, it was replaced by two lower business rates multipliers for qualifying RHL properties with a rateable value below £500,000:

• Small business RHL multiplier: applies to qualifying RHL properties with a rateable value below £51,000

• Standard RHL multiplier: applies to qualifying RHL properties with a rateable value between £51,000 and £499,999

Both RHL multipliers are set five pence below the corresponding national multipliers. They reduce the pence-in-the-pound rate used to calculate the initial business rates liability. This is distinct from the new targeted 20% reduction, which is an additional discount for qualifying pubs, social clubs and live music venues. The measures can therefore apply to the same property rather than being mutually exclusive, although the precise calculation will depend on the final scheme rules.

The replacement of the former 40% RHL relief with lower multipliers will not necessarily result in a lower bill for every ratepayer, particularly where a property’s rateable value increased following the 2026 revaluation. Transitional support may limit the immediate increase for qualifying properties, but it does not remove the need to check the underlying valuation and the reliefs applied to the bill.