With the ongoing story of the UK’s stores, hotels, pubs and other retail outlets facing steep increases in business rates over the coming years - with some seeing bills rise over 70% - the managing director of business finance experts Aurora Capital, George Holmes, has gone on record to highlight the risks such developments could pose to small businesses.
Following the Autumn Budget last year, from 1 April the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500k.
These will be 5p lower than the national multipliers, making the small business RHL multiplier 38.2p in 2026-27 and the standard RHL multiplier 43p in 2026-27.
The Association of Convenience Stores’ chairman, James Lowman - writing exclusively for Convenience Store in December - has also expressed concerns. “The 40% Covid reliefs are ending and being replaced by lower multipliers that on the face of things are beneficial to retail, and transitional support to smooth out the loss of that Covid relief, but many retailers will still see their bills increase by over a thousand pounds in April, especially as we’re also at the end of a revaluation period when many stores’ rateable values will be increasing.”
You can read Convenience Store’s guide to all of the legislative changes that may affect your business in 2026 here.
Speaking today (7 January), Holmes (left) expanded on the potential threat to retail in general: “The Government has long promised to fix business rates for high street shops and hospitality. However, they’re now becoming an existential threat. The prospect of rates rising by 70% or more risks pushing viable businesses over the edge.
“Transitional relief may soften the blow in the short term, but it won’t fix the underlying problem. If rates continue to rise faster than revenue, small operators are left with impossible choices. Reduce staff, cut opening hours or close altogether. None of those outcomes supports jobs or local economies.
“Businesses need a fairer, more predictable system that reflects footfall, profitability and reality on the ground.”
“Businesses need a fairer, more predictable system that reflects footfall, profitability and reality on the ground. Without targeted intervention, we risk losing the very businesses that give town centres life and character.”
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