\nWednesday 01 April 2026 8:40 am<\/p>\n
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Two-thirds of hospitality businesses will be forced to cut jobs and one in seven will shut altogether as a direct result of \u201csuffocating\u201d April tax rises, leading trade bodies have found.<\/p>\n
More than half (51 per cent) of hospitality firms will cancel investment plans and 42 per cent will reduce trading hours, according to a survey of more than 20,000 businesses.<\/p>\n
Hospitality firms say April\u2019s increases to minimum wage<\/a> rates and the introduction of higher business rates<\/a> for many firms adds to the looming burden posed by the Iran war and its impact on energy costs.<\/p>\n The changes to the national living wage and national minimum wage rates will add \u00a31.4bn per year to hospitality businesses\u2019 costs, according to a group of trade associations including UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).<\/p>\n Changes to the business rates system, made at last year\u2019s Budget, were intended to make the system fairer for hospitality and retail firms.<\/p>\n