UK Cuts Business Rates For Clubs & Live Music Venues In 2027

Pubs, clubs and live music venues in the UK are set to receive a 20% cut to their business rates bills, affective April 2027, saving the typical pub an estimated £1,100 ($1,465) next year.

The UK’s business rates are the equivalent of commercial property taxes in the U.S. This latest package of support is worth around £100 million ($133 million) a year, according to the UK government.

This latest measure follows the 15% relief off their 2026/27 bill, announced in January, with bills frozen in real terms for a further two years. The additional 20% cut for pubs, clubs and live music venues from 2027/28 comes on top of this existing support.

To target support where it is most needed, the government will not be making the new 20% discount available to the very largest live music venues, details will be set out at the UK’s upcoming budget, expected to be announced in October or November.

UK prime minister Andy Burnham commented, “for too long, governments have stood by while cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets. So today I am changing that.

“This government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities. I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do.”

See: UK Grassroots Sector Welcomes Business Rates Cut

The UK biz has reacted mostly positively, with come highlighting that the measures don’t go far enough, or need to be complemented by further relief:

Mark Davyd, CEO of the UK’s Music Venue Trust, “MVT warmly welcomes this announcement from the government, and its recognition that grassroots music venues are essential to our local communities. The 20% additional reduction on Business Rates from April 2027 is an encouraging first step in a range of opportunities available to Andy Burnham’s new team to not just protect and secure live music, but begin to restore its central role at the heart of our towns and cities.

“There remain some issues of implementation of previous reliefs, and we will work with colleagues in government to ensure that all grassroots music venues in England are recognised and eligible. We call on Senedd, Holyrood, and the Northern Ireland Assembly to swiftly confirm they will match this much needed support through Barnett formula consequentials. Venues in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland must be confident of a level playing field of economic conditions for touring across the UK.

“Live music is an ecosystem, and we strongly urge the government to reconsider the limit to the eligibility criteria so that all live music spaces of all sizes qualify, supporting jobs, local economies and communities to access live music.”

UK Music chief executive Tom Kiehl, “We welcome this much needed support for live music venues. These spaces are essential to the future of our world-leading music industry and serve as vital cultural hubs for communities right across the UK. We have lost too many venues to soaring business rates and these cuts offer a crucial lifeline to those still struggling to make ends meet.

“However, the Government must extend this lifeline to our world class recording studios. We have lost – and continue to lose – far too many of these spaces, without which our industry simply wouldn’t exist. As a lifelong music fan, the Prime Minister knows full well how essential these spaces are, not only for the future prosperity of our industry, but for communities the length and breadth of the country. We urge him to include studios in this policy and offer them the protection they so urgently need and deserve.”

Terry Rosoman, head of marketing at TicketSource, “Andy Burnham’s announcement was very encouraging for pubs, clubs and live music venues across the UK. Our research shockingly revealed that one entertainment venue closes somewhere in the UK every 16 hours, and that nearly nine in ten don’t make it past their fifth anniversary. So, with that in mind, I believe that any measures made to ease financial pressure on the sector are most welcome and certainly needed.

“For smaller, independent venues, even modest savings around £1,100 a year could make a difference to whether they are able to keep their doors open or not, how much they’re able to invest back into the business, and allow them to continue serving their local community. Let’s hope this is just the beginning of longer-term support for the sector that is clearly suffering.”

Steve Alton, CEO of the British Institute of Innkeeping, “Our members, operating independent pubs at the heart of their communities in towns and high streets across the UK, will be encouraged by this initial step taken by the new Prime Minister in his first few days in office. The recognition he has given to the vital role that pubs play in local economies, local employment and the huge social value they bring to their communities is welcome.

“However, even with this additional 20% discount on current bill levels, we now need to see a significant change to the cumulative taxation faced by our sector, to allow our nations’ pubs to have the ability to grow and reach their full potential. With the average salary of a 21-year-old having increased by almost £5,000 over the last 2 budgets plus the significant increases in NICs costs for employers, the discount on business rates bills, whilst a welcome step, can only be the beginning of the changes we need to see for our members.

“In order for pubs to be able to support local employment growth, particularly for young people beginning their careers, we need to see significant change to the overall tax burden they face. Our members have been clear and consistent in their calls for an urgent need to reduce their cumulative tax bill with a priority of a fair deal of VAT at 10% on all pub sales. This will be essential to provide the breathing space these vital local businesses need to grow and be at the heart of economic growth, as well as providing essential employment for young people in every postcode across the country.”

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