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‘It’s not fair’: cafe owners frustrated over exclusion from business rates cut
Cafe owners in England have criticised Andy Burnham’s planned business rates relief for excluding cafes and restaurants while supporting pubs, social clubs and live music venues. They argue that cafes face similar pressures from energy costs, inflation and weaker consumer spending, and play an important role as local workplaces and community spaces.
The package, worth about £100m a year and due to begin next April, is expected to save a typical pub around £1,100 in the following year. Sheba Coffee says the exclusion limits its ability to expand, while Dialogue Cafe, a deaf-run social enterprise in east London, fears subsidised competitors could draw customers away and undermine its work employing deaf and hard-of-hearing baristas.
In short
- Cafes criticise exclusion from targeted business rates relief.
- Package will support pubs, clubs and music venues.
- Owners say cafes face comparable costs and community responsibilities.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Cafes face identical economic pressures as pubs—rising energy costs, inflation, and weakened consumer spending—yet are excluded from the relief. They provide comparable community value, serving as local workplaces and gathering spaces for their areas. The exclusion appears arbitrary; if business rates relief aims to support struggling hospitality venues, the criteria should be consistent and fairly applied. Independent cafes and social enterprises like Dialogue Cafe contribute meaningfully to their communities and deserve equal consideration under any support scheme.
The case against
The relief strategically targets venues most at risk of permanent closure—pubs, social clubs, and live music venues that provide irreplaceable cultural and community functions. Once lost, these institutions cannot easily be replaced, and many communities face their extinction. Whilst cafes face genuine pressures, they typically enjoy more diverse revenue streams and viable business models than traditional pubs. The policy reflects justified prioritisation: protecting cultural anchors and social gathering spaces that bind communities together takes precedence over supporting all hospitality businesses equally.
Explained simply
Business rates are annual taxes that businesses pay on their property in England. The government is introducing changes next April that will reduce these taxes for certain hospitality and entertainment venues, costing about £100m a year.
The tax reduction is designed to help pubs, social clubs and live music venues – a typical pub is expected to save around £1,100 annually. Cafes and restaurants, however, have been excluded from this support, despite facing similar financial pressures from rising energy costs, inflation and weaker consumer spending.
Cafe owners argue they provide important community functions as local workplaces and meeting places, similar to the supported venues. Some specific cases illustrate the impact: one cafe operator says the exclusion affects expansion plans, while Dialogue Cafe, a deaf-run social enterprise in east London, worries that subsidised competitors could take its customers and undermine its mission to employ deaf and hard-of-hearing staff.
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