Pubs 'will close' say landlords angry at tax rises

""I'm angry, I'm really really angry now," Luke Honeychurch told me. We're standing in his beautiful Cotswolds stone pub, The Hog at Horsley. It is known for its well-kept local ales, from Stroud Brewery and good bar banter. But the landlord now has an alter ego on social media, "The Grumpy Landlord". Mr Honeychurch launched it after he discovered how much his business rates will rise. "At the moment we pay around 100 a month," he explained."

""It's the final nail in the coffin," said Phil Kiernan, who added he may have to close his pub in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Landlord Luke Honeychurch, said the tax increase on his pub would leave him "unable to pay myself a wage at all". But a Treasury spokesperson insisted the government is "protecting pubs, restaurants and cafes with the Budget's 4.3bn support package.""

Planned business rates increases due in 2026 are prompting pub landlords to warn of dire consequences, including price rises, staff layoffs and permanent closures. Some landlords face steep monthly rate rises that would erase already-minimal personal wages, with one reporting current take-home pay at around half the minimum wage and fearing zero earnings after the increase. Landlords describe the change as potentially the final blow for struggling pubs. The Treasury points to a 4.3bn Budget support package and a cut to the rates multiplier, but individual operators say those measures do not prevent unsustainable cost increases for small pubs.

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