Around 4,400 pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars and live music venues will be eligible for an additional 15% relief on their business rates bills in 2026-2027, the Welsh government has announced.
Up to £8 million will be provided using funding from the UK government and the Welsh government’s own funds.
The news follows the UK government’s announcement that pubs and music venues in England will also receive an extra 15% relief.
In the full Welsh Budget, a reduction in standard business rates multiplier was confirmed to “re-balance the non-domestic rates system in favour of small to medium sized retail shops”.
Finance secretary Mark Drakeford said:
“Pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars, and live music venues are at the heart of communities across Wales. We know they are facing real pressures, from rising costs to changing consumer habits.
“This additional support will help around 4,400 businesses as they adapt to these 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.
“This builds on more than £1 billion in temporary rates relief we have provided since 2020, alongside our permanent reliefs worth £250 million every year. We will continue to stand behind the hospitality businesses that serve our communities.”
Responding to the extra relief, David Chapman, executive director of UKHospitality Cymru, said:
“The additional 15% relief is helpful to some but it’s notable that this is only a one-year commitment, which is a significant difference to the three years committed to in England.
“Welsh government’s inclusion of restaurants and cafes, alongside pubs, is clear recognition that this is a hospitality-wide problem, yet this is far from a hospitality-wide solution.
“Rates bills will still be going up year-on-year, even for those receiving relief, and hotels, which were facing the biggest increases, have been excluded completely.
“It’s positive that additional funding has been used to support hospitality but it was the Welsh government’s decision to exclude hospitality from business rates support that has led to this situation.
“We need a swift end to this unjust system, which challenges business viability, investment and growth. Hospitality still needs to see proper.”
Joshua Miles, head of Wales at Federation of Small Businesses, said:
“We’ve been highlighting the large increases in business rates facing hospitality and leisure businesses for some time, so it’s good to see Welsh Government respond with additional relief for some businesses.
“Although this news will bring a welcome, temporary reprieve for food and drink hospitality businesses and music venue owners, small firms across the rest of the hospitality and leisure sectors will be incredibly disappointed to not have been considered for support.
“Losing the previous 40% discount, on top of April’s revaluation of the rateable value of premises, will take a heavy toll on small firms, threatening jobs and our high streets.
“The fact that this is another one-year temporary relief reflects a pattern of short-term fixes in a complicated and often arbitrary business rates system that needs urgent reform.”