The Chancellor is set to unveil a £100m support package for pubs later today, the Financial Times reports.
Details were reportedly being finalised on Monday night, but the package is expected to be worth £100m per year. It is a temporary measure, and that any wider reform to the multiplier used to calculate business rates is yet to be announced, MCA understands.
The government also intends to introduce reforms to pub licensing rules, allowing extended hours, but is not expected to reduce VAT on beers, spirits, and wine. MCA further understands that restaurants, nightclubs, and other parts of the hospitality sector will be excluded from the relief.
The relief package comes after a sector-wide campaign warning of further closures and job losses following an upcoming rise in business rates.
The value of the relief is expected to be seen as a bitter disappointment after many pub operators have been hit with major hikes in their rateable values.
Government officials admitted they had not accounted for the financial impact of business rates changes after the Autumn Budget.
“I do recognise the particular challenge that pubs face at the moment, and so have been working with the sector over the last few weeks to make sure that the right support is in place,” Rachel Reeves said at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. “I think the situation the pubs face is different from other parts of the hospitality sector.”
ONS figures show some 20,000 hospitality jobs were lost between September and December 2025, with almost 9,000 roles wiped out following November’s budget.
The latest labour market data reveals the sector employed 8,784 fewer people in December 2025, compared to the month before, despite the festive season traditionally being a time that businesses staff up.
Trade body UKHospitality says the figures reinforce the scale of the challenges facing the sector, with the impact of changes to employer NICs and other increased employment costs continuing to impact businesses.
Meanwhile, almost half of Britain’s pubs have scaled back their opening hours over the past year after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, according to a survey by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA),
According to the industry group, 47% of pub owners said they had reduced hours on trading days between April and October last year. A total of 84 owners responded to the survey, representing hundreds of pubs.
This came after the Chancellor increased both employer National Insurance rates and the minimum wage during her first Budget, while cutting business rates relief.
