Pubs across the country have said they are struggling as business rates have increased sharply amid huge energy and employment costs for publicans in 2026.
The pub industry has complained about skyrocketing costs (Image: Getty)
Energy, National Insurance and minimum wage are among the increased costs being faced by many hospitality businesses across the country. Thousands of pubs across the country are grappling with budget-driven high costs, according to a recent study. Accountants Price Bailey’s research shows 8,605 pubs currently operate with negative assets, while 4,800 fall into the highest credit risk category. One man, Ben Guerin, created an interactive map to show the pubs most at risk of closure in a “fit of data-driven rage about the state of British pubs”.
To do this, he examined official data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the government body responsible for business rates in England and Wales. He then compared the 2023 Rating List (current rates) with the 2026 Draft Rating List (proposed new rates), filtering to view public houses, inns and small hotels with bars. By doing this, he could calculate the business rates that pubs around the country can expect to pay from April 2026. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a relief package for pubs after lobbying from industry groups who warned of mass pub closures.
It comes after there were 181 pub insolvencies in the last three months of 2025. Guerin’s list of pubs at risk of closure, which is not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the VOA, HMRC, or any government body, ranks pubs based on how “f****d” they are.
The worst category, which he labelled “absolutely f****d”, shows the 1,267 pubs that, based on his findings, are most at risk of closure as a result of increased business rates.
The interactive map shows pubs across the country and where they fall in the scale of risk of closure as a result of crippling business rates. He has also provided a list of the pubs most at risk of closure across England and Wales on his newly created website.
According to Guerin’s findings, the pub that has seen the most significant increase in business costs as a result of changes introduced by the Chancellor is The Rising Sun, located in Christchurch, Dorset.
The map allows you to zoom into your local area to see which pubs might struggle (Image: Ben Guerin)
Guerin’s research found that the venue, which is a bar and restaurant specialising in Asian food and drinks, has seen an increase in rateable value of £43,550, based on proposed rates for 2026.
Rateable Value (RV) is an estimate by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) of a non-domestic property’s open market rental value, used by local councils to determine the business rates a venue pays. It is not the actual tax bill, but the number the councils use to calculate it.
The top ten pubs and venues that are to see the largest jump in business rates, according to this man’s research, are:
- Rising Sun, Christchurch, Dorset
- Fleur-De-Lys Public House, Nuneaton, Warwickshire
- Dog and Bell, Prince Street, London
- Wickham Arms, Upper Brockley Road, London
- Newdigate Arms, Bedworth, Warwickshire
- The Tiger Moth, Bedford, Bedfordshire
- Catherine Wheel, Norwich, Norfolk
- Swan Inn, Halesowen, West Midlands
- Tudor Oaks, Stotfold, Bedfordshire
- Ship Inn, Ulverston, Cumbria
In January, it was revealed that pubs would need to pour 825 million more pints to cover Rachel Reeves’s rates hike. The average profit on a pint is just 13 pence; independent pubs in England and Wales will each have to sell 43,969 more pints to cover the cost, the Conservative Party claimed.
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves’ business rates rise is yet another tax on jobs… Labour promised they’d fix business rates. Instead, they are punishing businesses, destroying entry-level jobs, and hollowing out our high streets.”
In outrage over business rates faced by pubs, more than 1,000 venues across the country banned Labour MPs. These now include three of Rachel Reeves’s own local pubs, which have said they would refuse her entry over the recent Christmas period.
