An average Scottish pub will see its business rates bill increase by £36,523 across the next three years.
That is the stunning conclusion of analysis of the new business rates regime conducted by UKHospitality Scotland, which described the economic pressure now being put on pubs as ‘unsustainable’.
The extra costs being imposed on pubs and hotels across Scotland come as a result of increases to rateable values, the ending of the 40% relief introduced as a result of Covid – and most recently the Scottish Government ‘not going far enough’ in the support offered to hospitality in its January Budget.
Taken together, UKHospitality’s analysis of the new rates regime found that for an ‘average’ Scottish pub paying business rates, the 2026/27 bill will be £26,385, an increase of £11,509 – or 77% – on the current average of £14,876.
In 2027/28, that average rises to £27,045, an increase of £12,169 – up 82% – compared to today.
If nothing changes in the intervening years, in 2028/29 an average Scottish pub’s rates bill will go up to £27,721,increasing by £12,845 – or 86% – compared to the current average.
Taken in total, those next three years of business rates will cost an average pub an extra £36,523.
Hotels are also facing significant increases in their rates bills, with UKHospitality calculating their cumulative extra cost at an average of £68,007 over the next three years.
Executive director of UKHospitality Scotland, Leon Thompson, said: “These are staggering increases and demonstrate the significant cost challenge facing Scottish hospitality businesses.
“This comes on top of increased costs of employment, energy, food and drink, and will be simply unsustainable for hospitality businesses to handle,” warned Thompson.
“These are not sums that can just be plucked out of thin air. The Scottish Government can’t expect the local pub to discover an extra £11,000 in the next two months to pay these significant increases.
“We have already seen cancelled investment, job losses and business closures across Scotland, and the scale of these rates bills make it even more likely that this will get worse.”
Thompson noted reports that the UK Government, under pressure from trade bodies and some sections of the national press, was preparing to throw some sort of financial lifeline to pubs south of the border.
“The Scottish Government has already committed to passing on any additional funding it receives from the UK Government, but I urge it to go further and work with us to provide further support to avert these significant increases,” he added.
