Pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars and live music venues across Wales
will benefit from additional business rates support, the Finance
Secretary has announced.
Around 4,400 hospitality businesses will be eligible for 15%
relief on their rates bills in 2026-27, helping them through a
period of rising costs and changing consumer habits.
The Welsh Government is providing up to £8 million for the
package, using funding from the UK Government but also deploys
the Welsh Government's own funds to extend the range of
businesses helped in Wales.
This support for food and drink hospitality comes on top of
substantial existing support. Almost half of pubs in Wales
already benefit from Small Business Rates Relief, and over a
quarter pay no rates at all. The Welsh Government's permanent
reliefs are worth £250 million every year.
From April, the multiplier used to work out rates bills will also
be reduced for the first time since 2010, and £116 million in
transitional relief is being provided over two years to help
businesses adjust to the revaluation.
Finance Secretary said:
"Pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars, and live music venues are at the
heart of communities across Wales. We know they are facing real
pressures, from rising costs to changing consumer habits.
"This additional support will help around 4,400 businesses as
they adapt to these challenges. We have extended this relief to
restaurants and cafes, as well as pubs and live music venues,
because in towns and high streets across Wales these businesses
operate side by side, often in direct competition. It makes sense
to support them equally.
"This builds on more than £1 billion in temporary rates relief we
have provided since 2020, alongside our permanent reliefs worth
£250 million every year. We will continue to stand behind the
hospitality businesses that serve our communities."
Eligible businesses can apply for the relief through their local
authority from April 2026.
Notes to editors
- The relief will apply to properties used mainly for the sale
of food and drink to the visiting public, including pubs,
restaurants, cafes, bars, and live music venues.
- The maximum relief available to any single business is capped
at £110,000 across Wales, to prioritise the available support for
independent operators.
- The Welsh Government has provided more than £1 billion in
temporary rates relief to retail, leisure and hospitality
businesses since 2020.
- Business rates (non-domestic rates) are devolved to Wales.
The Welsh Government sets the multiplier and relief schemes that
apply in Wales.
