Tom Kerridge says Government ‘looked at him with concern’ as his pubs ‘face 100% rise in business rates’

Mr Kerridge said the hospitality industry is “not in a good place” after the new measures were announced

Tom Kerridge said Peter Kyle had worked out the figures on his pubs which include 100 per cent hikes in business rates.

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LBC

Michelin star chef Tom Kerridge has revealed to LBC that a Government minister looked at his new business rates with “concern” after it was revealed he faces a 100 per cent tax hike.

Mr Kerridge, who owns four separate gastropubs in England, said he was presented with a sheet of paper by Business Secretary Peter Kyle during a recent meeting which showed the new rateable tax amount on his ‘Coach’ restaurant had risen from £50,500 to £106,000.

It comes as pubs, bars and restaurants face much higher bills from April from the Government’s revaluation on taxes, five years after they were lowered in Covid.

Speaking to Tom Swarbrick on Drive, Kerridge said Mr Kyle looked at the figures with “concern and understanding”.

Read more: Sir Keir Starmer tells LBC he’s looking at ‘further support’ for pubs & firms hit by higher business rates

Read more: Only one-in-three British pubs turn a profit, LBC reveals, as alcohol duties and NI increase leave locals struggling to stay open

The prime minister’s told us that discussions with the hospitality industry are ongoing.

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Alamy

He told Tom: “I was at an event pre Christmas where I kind of jumped on him just as the floor on these business rates were coming out.

“I said we as a hospitality industry are in a lot of trouble here. We are not in a good space.

“To be fair to him he invited me in and handed me a piece of paper with my rateable values and the new rateable values.

“He looked at that with concern and I said listen this is unsustainable.

“He had presented that to me, he has done his research. He is trying to understand how they can react to it.”

The Coach pub and restaurant run by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge retained it’s One Michelin star rating in 2022.

Picture:
Alamy

Mr Kerridge added: “We run these as businesses so you have to make those business decisions.

“There are thousands upon thousands upon thousands of pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, all of these sort of spaces, with these rateable values that are happening to them.

“They aren’t in the fortunate position to be sat here talking to you to explain to it. They are under that same pressure.”

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer told LBC earlier on Monday that discussions with the hospitality industry are ongoing about providing “further support” for firms hit by higher business rates.

The Prime Minister said: “Obviously, what’s happened is there were reductions in place during covid which were always going to be unwound.

“At some point, the overall rates are going to be lower. But I accept that because of revaluation, that means that some will have their bills going up.

“We’re putting in place transitional relief.

“We’re talking to the sector, particularly hospitality and pubs, about what further support we can put in, whether that’s licencing freedoms or other measures.

“We want to talk to the sector. I want to keep working with them to make sure we can work this through.”

Several pubs have already barred Labour MPs in protest at business rate changes – in a bid to force the Government to think again.

Labour MP Rachael Maskell also told LBC last week that the high street will “collapse” without changes to an “excruciating” rise in business rates.

The MP for York Central said she is “pleading with the government” to “bring around proper reform of business rates”.

Rachael Maskell told LBC: “I look across York and it is excruciating the rises which people will see to their business rates.

“The problem has been that we’ve seen the revaluation coming at the same time and that’s just pushed people over the line and certainly to the edge.”

In the Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that a new business rates system will be introduced from the next financial year.

This will see rates multipliers lowered for retail, hospitality and leisure firms – funded by higher rates on larger commercial properties, including warehouses.

It also means that firms with larger premises, like storage companies and supermarkets, will be hit with a property tax rise.

The Chancellor’s Budget included a £4.3bn support package that includes pubs which means that Tom Kerridge’s maximum increase would be around 15%, the Treasury said.

An HM Treasury spokesperson said: “We’re protecting pubs, restaurants and cafés with the Budget’s £4.3 billion support package.

“Without this support, pubs would face a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, we’ve got that down to just 4%.

“This comes on top of our efforts to ease licensing to help more venues offer pavement drinks and put on one-off events, maintaining our cut to alcohol duty on draught pints, and capping Corporation Tax.”