Hospitality and leisure businesses across Wales are set to receive a permanent 30 per cent reduction in their business rates bills from April 2027, with the Welsh government saying the move will help revitalise high streets.
The support will apply to eligible small and medium-sized properties with a rateable value below £51,000, including pubs, restaurants, cafés, bars, food courts, licensed clubs and live music venues.
Hotels, guest houses, hostels, cinemas, theatres, libraries, museums and gyms will also qualify.
Retail shops will continue to benefit from business rates support, building on the lower multiplier already in place this year, the Welsh government said.
The announcement is part of a manifesto commitment to reform business rates and support town centres. The 30 per cent reduction will replace the current temporary 15 per cent relief for eligible food and drink hospitality businesses, providing permanent support from 1 April 2027.
Welsh first minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said the measures would give businesses greater confidence to invest and grow.
“Our high streets are the heartbeat of communities right across Wales, and the businesses that fill them deserve our backing,” he said.
The Welsh government said the cost of the relief would be funded through a small increase in the higher business rates multiplier, which applies to the highest-value properties in Wales. It said the change would not reduce the overall contribution made by business rates towards public services.
The announcement follows a similar move in England, where prime minister Andy Burnham announced in July that eligible pubs, clubs and live music venues would receive a further 20 per cent reduction in their business rates bills from April 2027, on top of the 15 per cent relief previously announced.
Burnham’s announcement prompted concerns from trade bodies that additional support for hospitality could leave other high street businesses, including retailers, at a disadvantage.
The Welsh government said the measures would sit alongside the work of its Town Centres Taskforce, which is examining what additional support individual town centres may need.