Budget

Review of the Week

‘Confidence is starting to rise’

15-Mar-2024 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington caught up with the BII's Steve Alton to get his take on the week's news, ahead of his epic trip to Kenya for Pedalling 4 Pubs.

OPINION

Sector’s hopes snuffed out as Chancellor fails to understand pub reality

06-Mar-2024 By Ed Bedington

It was a faint hope, but still cruelly dashed as the chancellor stood at the dispatch box and showed his fundamental lack of understanding of the pub sector.

Review of the Week

‘Politics back to normal’

17-Mar-2023 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington caught up with UKHospitality boss Kate Nicholls to get her take on the week's news, which has seen the Spring Budget announced, Ofgem's letter to Government and potential train strike breakthroughs.

SPRING BUDGET 2023

Sadly, it's not a joke Mr Hunt

15-Mar-2023 By Ed Bedington

“British ale is warm, but the duty on a pint is frozen” were the words uttered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the flippancy of his remark sums up the level of care this Government appears to have for the hospitality sector.

Autumn Statement

Crumbs of comfort as VAT pleas ignored

17-Nov-2022 By Ed Bedington

Well, we knew it was going to be grim, and any suggestion of support was going to be highly unlikely, but those who were hoping for VAT reform will have been left dismayed by the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.

Reasons to be optimistic

11-Nov-2022 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington caught up with Robinsons Brewery's William Robinson to discuss the economic outlook and grounds for optimism amid the challenges we're facing.

Review of the Week

Reasons for optimism?

23-Sep-2022 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington spoke with trade association bosses Kate Nicholls of UKHospitality and the BII's Steve Alton to get their take on the mini-budget and whether there was any grounds for optimism.

The MA's Review of the Week

'Deaf ear at the heart of Government'

25-Mar-2022 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington caught up with UK Hospitality's Kate Nicholls to discuss the week's big developments including the disappointment of the Spring Statement and the challenges facing the sector down the line.

Survival of the fittest as Government cuts support

25-Mar-2022 By Ed Bedington

Disappointment was the word from the sector as the chancellor sat back down from the podium, and if he was expecting a thundering applause, he was astonishingly mistaken.

Rising costs to plunge night-time economy into ‘new period of darkness’

14-Mar-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The UK’s night-time economy faces a “new period of darkness” amid the cost of living crisis, according to the Great Manchester night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord, ahead of the Chancellor’s spring statement next Wednesday (23 March).

Small brewers barred from Gov’s plan to help pubs

31-Jan-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The Chancellor’s plan to help pubs through a new way of taxing alcohol will exclude small brewers and cider producers, new research from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has revealed.

UKHospitality Cymru calls for business rates relief for hospitality

14-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

UKHospitality Cymru has called for business rates relief for the hospitality sector ahead of the Welsh Government’s Budget New Year financial support package.

'We're trapped in some kind of Squid Game, every week is a new challenge'

05-Nov-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington caught up with Brewhouse & Kitchen's Kris Gumbrell to pick over some of the issues in the news of recent times, from the fallout of the budget, through to Christmas concerns and ongoing supply worries.

August budget 2021

Budget 2021: Industry reaction

28-Oct-2021 By Ed Bedington

As the dust settles around Rishi Sunak's Budget, the industry is starting to pick apart the details of the pledges made, with mixed reactions. The Morning Advertiser spoke to a range of leading figures from the trade to get their thoughts on whether...

Autumn Budget 2021

Duty freeze and further cuts are 'bold and far reaching'

28-Oct-2021 By Gary Lloyd

Sector bosses have hailed the Government’s decision to scrap planned duty increases to alcoholic drinks and introduce a Draught Relief scheme to further reduce duty as “bold and far reaching”.

Autumn Budget 2021

Duty increase for alcohol scrapped, new scheme to lower rate further

27-Oct-2021 By Gary Lloyd

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced planned duty increases for alcoholic drinks at pubs would be cancelled from midnight on Thursday (28 October) and a new Draught Relief scheme would see duty cuts of 5% introduced in 2023.

Autumn Budget 2021

Best budget for pubs in a generation?

27-Oct-2021 By Ed Bedington

Despite all the leaks, from a government that makes the Titanic look like a viable operation, there were still a few rabbits in Rishi Sunak’s hat as he stood up in Parliament today (27 October 2021).

Autumn Budget 2021

50% business rates discount for hospitality sector

27-Oct-2021 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

A 50% business rates discount will be put in place for the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors for one year, announced the Chancellor of the Exchequer at today's Autumn Budget (Wednesday 27 October).

Business rates ‘woefully out of date’ for city venues

25-Oct-2021 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Eliminating business rates should be the Government’s focus in Wednesday’s Autumn Budget (27th October), said the owner of the Atlas Bar in Manchester.

'Leave us alone, let us come back and stabilise'

25-Oct-2021 By Rebecca Weller

One licensee has urged the Government to let the hospitality sector recover and grow ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Reduced VAT 'absolutely necessary' for pubs’ survival

25-Oct-2021 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

A continuation of reduced the VAT rate at the Budget this Wednesday 27th October will draw in customers and staff to the hospitality industry, said the director of pub the Red Lion in Shepperton, Surrey.

Budget: trade bodies call for Chancellor to lower VAT for the sector

01-Oct-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Trade bodies have called on the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to cut VAT and duty rates in the Budget on 27 October to help the sector recover after the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The MA’s Review of the week

Beer duty freeze ‘could have been bolder’

05-Mar-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser’s Ed Bedington mulls over the Spring Budget with the help of Herefordshire-based freehouse operator Matt Slocombe of the Crown at Woolhope.

The Lock In Podcast

The Lock In Podcast: Budget - bonus or bust?

04-Mar-2021 By Ed Bedington

The budget has been revealed, some would say before the budget was revealed, and the podcast team give their reaction to the Chancellor's hand outs and what it means for their businesses and wider hospitality. We also get some more considered analysis...

Jobs round-up

Operators face skills shortage, Government urged to reopen venues as remote workspaces

04-Mar-2021 By Stuart Stone

In addition to the latest news on furlough and the National Living Wage, this latest jobs round-up looks at a hospitality sector skills shortage and a new petition to allow remote workers to set up a ‘pub office’.

Spring Budget 2021

‘Pragmatic steps’ but far from ‘whatever it takes’

04-Mar-2021 By Stuart Stone

What impact will Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s latest Budget have on the pub sector as it navigates the Government’s post-lockdown roadmap?

Spring Budget 2021

Rent debt remains ‘biggest gap’ in hospitality support

03-Mar-2021 By Stuart Stone

Despite broadly welcoming the provisions set out in the Spring Budget, trade body UKHospitality has flagged that a ‘£2bn millstone’ still faces pub, bar and restaurant operators.

Spring Budget 2021

Chancellor extends 5% VAT for further six months

03-Mar-2021 By Stuart Stone

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK will not return to a standard 20% VAT rate until April 2022.

Hospitality sector ‘remains utmost in Chancellor’s mind’

02-Mar-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has said the hospitality trade ‘remains utmost’ in his mind, in an interview on Times Radio.

Opinion

'Back to normal’ no longer enough for pubs

26-Feb-2021 By Paul Davies, CEO, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company

Paul Davies, chief executive officer of Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC), outlines much-needed measures from the Chancellor’s Budget on 3 March to protect the future of the brewing, pub and hospitality industries.

Largest GDP slump in 300 years ‘another indicator’ of pub and brewery devastation

15-Feb-2021 By Stuart Stone

GDP figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the UK economy contracted by 9.9% in 2020 – the largest annual slump in more than 300 years.

Opinion

'I fear the next budget will focus on recuperating losses rather than support to see us through’

05-Feb-2021 By Andreas Antona, chef owner of the Cross at Kenilworth, Warwickshire, and Simpsons in Edgbaston, Birmingham

I consider myself an optimist and remain hopeful that with the vaccine rolled out Brits will return to the pubs and restaurants that they love.