Entrepreneur and investor calls for direct action from the trade as pressure builds on business rates
SCOTTISH business magnate Sir Tom Hunter has called on pubs, bars and restaurants to ban Scottish Government ministers from their premises until definitive action is taken on business rates.
In a video posted on his X account Sir Tom, who founded Sports Division and heads up private equity firm West Coast Capital, said: “Rachel Reeves has been banned from her local pub because of the rates. So I’m gonna say, up in Scotland, let’s start banning the people in power from their local pub, their local restaurant, until they sort the rates policy that is not fit for purpose.”
Text accompanying the video read: “Let’s ban every government minister and the rates assessor from their local pub until the business rates are fixed. Business rates are having a terrible impact on businesses across Scotland, particularly in hospitality. What will it take to make the government officials and rates assessor understand the damage they are doing?”
Hunter’s comments come after publicans across England barred Labour MPs from their pubs in their own protest against the English rates system.
Pressure continues to build on the Scottish Government to take action on business rates. The recent revaluation is set to see businesses across Scotland facing drastically higher rates bills from April, at a time when they are already struggling with rising wage, goods and utility prices.
Scottish finance secretary Shona Robison pledged a 15% discount on rates bills for hospitality businesses liable for the lower or intermediate poundage rate in her Scottish Budget last month. There is also expected to be further funds available to the Scottish Government via the Barnett formula after the UK Government announced its own support package. However, details of this are yet to be announced at time of writing.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland has paused its own rates revaluation as hospitality businesses there faced sizeable increases in their bills. Northern Irish trade group Hospitality Ulster said the increases would have been the ‘death knell’ for the sector.
