Relief Turns to Anger as UK Hotels, Pubs Feel Budget Pain Again

When Rachel Reeves told Parliament her budget would help struggling hospitality businesses with “the lowest tax rates since 1991,” UK pub owners and hoteliers breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the fine print of changes to business rates — a property tax — has emerged, they’re crying foul.

“Despite her calling out hospitality in the speech, the actual reality is that rates have gone up,” said Phil Urban, chief executive officer of Mitchells & Butlers Plc, the pub operator behind the Nicholson’s and All Bar One chains.

Hotels and pubs were already grappling with soaring costs that ...