Around 4,400 hospitality businesses across Wales are set to receive a 15 per cent reduction on their business rates bills in 2026–27, following a new support package announced by the Welsh government.
The £8 million scheme will support pubs, restaurants, cafés, bars and live music venues as they contend with rising operating costs and changing consumer habits. Eligible businesses will be able to apply for the relief through their local authority from April 2026.
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said the measures are designed to help hospitality venues that “sit at the heart of communities across Wales”, adding that the additional support will help businesses to adapt to the challenges.
“We have extended this relief to restaurants and cafes, as well as pubs and live music venues, because in towns and high streets across Wales these businesses operate side by side, often in direct competition. It makes sense to support them equally,” he added.
The package builds on existing support in Wales, where almost half of pubs already benefit from Small Business Rates Relief and more than a quarter pay no rates at all.
From April, the business rates multiplier will also be reduced for the first time since 2010, alongside £116m in transitional relief over two years to help firms adjust to revaluation. Ministers say permanent reliefs in Wales are worth around £250m annually, with more than £1 billion in temporary rates relief delivered since 2020.
England announced similar pub relief
The move follows a January announcement by the UK government, which introduced a 15 per cent business rates discount for pubs and live music venues in England.
Speaking in parliament at the time, Treasury minister Daniel Tomlinson said the measure would be worth around £1,650 for the average pub next year, with around three quarters of pubs expected to see their bills fall or remain the same.
Pub rates bills will also be frozen in real terms for a further two years.
Independent retailers criticise selective approach
However, the England package drew criticism from the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), which warned that excluding independent shops risks undermining wider high street recovery.
Bira chief executive Andrew Goodacre said the decision to prioritise pubs amounted to a “poor decision based on politics rather than what is good for the local economy”, arguing that independent retailers face the same cost pressures.
He also highlighted the scale of closures on the retail side, pointing to the loss of 17,000 independent shops in 2024 and warning of similar numbers when 2025 figures are confirmed, compared with around 7,000 pubs lost since 2010.