Hospitality businesses feel betrayed by Holyrood on business rates

Scottish Government's "no plans" to reform non domestic rates leaves many Capital bars, restaurants and hotels facing a crisis

Spectacular terrace at Cold Town House: Pic courtesy Signature Pubs

April 1, 2025 will go down in the calendar of Edinburgh’s hospitality sector as the day they felt fooled – but have been left with nothing to laugh about as their sector faces into huge challenges with dwindling support.

On the same day the UK Government’s Autumn Budget measures raising employers National Insurance and increasing the Living Wage came into effect, the Scottish Government confirmed it had “no plans” to reform Non Domestic Rates, better known as business rates.

This despite a recent survey of 500 UK hospitality businesses that showed almost half – 44% - expected to cease trading during the year without some kind of supportive intervention in the face of soaring costs as they try to recover from the damaging impact of their sector’s total lockdown during the Covid pandemic.

And this despite the sector coming together to work with Government, and to look into solutions around reforming business rates for the sector, helping support it through the transition, and campaigning for additional solutions from UK Government such as reducing VAT for the sector to 12.5%.

Absolutely stunned

The fury and sense of betrayal is palpable. Take this comment from Louise Maclean, Business Development Director at the Signature Pub Group which has around a dozen venues in Scotland’s Capital:

“I felt absolutely stunned when the news came out. Kate Forbes (Deputy First Minister) sat in my office in Edinburgh with some of my fellow directors of the Scottish Hospitality Group and said they would look to reform Non Domestic Rates for hospitality and urged the various industry groups to work together. And we did, and now we get this news from the Scottish Government.”