Business rates discount not enough to save pubs, says CAMRA
The Government’s partial climbdown on business rates for pubs – a 15% reduction from April – does not go far enough, says CAMRA. Independent brewers, also hit by rises in duty, want a better deal too.
CAMRA national chairman Ash Corbett-Collins said: “This short-term announcement is not the ‘permanently lower business rates’ that pubs were promised. While it is positive that the chancellor has listened and announced extra discounts for pubs facing the threat of closure, it is short-sighted to think that today’s statement will give publicans the certainty they need.
“The plan to review the unfair way pubs are assessed for business rates is welcome, but this leaves them in the same situation as they have been for years – still facing a long wait for promised and fundamental reforms to make the system fairer.
“CAMRA will keep campaigning to get the government to support great pubs and independent breweries so they can compete against online businesses and cheap supermarket booze.”
On changes to licensing hours and relaxation of planning rules, he added: “Letting pubs stay open for longer or extending their premises is not going to solve the fundamental problem where otherwise viable businesses face being taxed out of existence.
“Licensees are already limiting their opening hours and can’t afford to invest in their buildings. The government should fundamentally review the tax burden on pubs and independent breweries from things like VAT and alcohol duty to see if those systems can be made fairer.”
Meanwhile, the closure rate of breweries increased dramatically during 2025 compared to previous years, according to the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), with a 37% spike compared to 2024. The UK had 1,578 individual breweries on January 1, 2026, compared to 1,715 at the start of 2025 and 1,815 in 2024.
SIBA chief executive Andy Slee said: “Britain is extremely lucky to have such a broad range of passionate, independent breweries brewing beer across the UK, but if we don’t act soon to reverse closure rates then we could be facing a survival crisis for British brewing.
“The issue here is not one of demand but the tax burden on small breweries, increased merger activity creating consolidation in the market, and restricted access to pubs for small breweries.”
Research published by SIBA last year showed independent brewers’ production returning to pre-Covid levels and independently brewed cask beer in double-digit growth. But market pressures and an increase in mergers and acquisitions mean that overall the UK now has 137 fewer breweries than 12 months ago.