It’s easy to see how the change in business rates has become contentious. My issue is the way that it changed without any real communication. One of our pubs is the Hero in Maida Vale, and its rateable value under Reeves’ proposed plans well over doubled, effectively overnight. It’s now about £300,000, up from £145,000. When I heard how much it was going to cost, my reaction was shock. I couldn’t believe it. I actually heard about it first from a journalist and I was completely staggered that it could have gone up by that amount — and I also couldn’t quite understand the rhyme or reason behind it.
For any operator, the thing you want to do is create as many certainties as possible, because usually there are so few. The rates were something we thought we understood, and now they’ve just changed. It wrong-foots us, and it stifles growth. It all gets in your head, and it affects your decision-making when thinking about other things you want to do.
