Pubs, shops and studios: Why business rates are back in the headlines

You can't have missed it. Business rates are heading for a reset on 1 April 2026 and it's been all over the news this week.

New rateable values are set to take effect in England and Wales, based on what it would've cost to rent your property on 1 April 2024.

While the news has focused on pubs, restaurants and music venues, higher bills will have an effect on all small businesses down the chain.

Fulham-based web designer and Enterprise Nation member Reem Khatib, founder of Reem Web Design says:

"I work from home, but when it's my clients who are being impacted, it impacts me indirectly."

She adds:

"I do maintenance for my clients – so I don't just build their website, I really establish a partnership.

"Often, I'm paid a retainer, so if I lose a client due to interest rates increases, I lose money I used to earn on a monthly basis. Everything is connected, it can't be seen in isolation."

Lauren Blackwell, founder of Yorkshire-based Fellbeing, runs yoga classes in local venues across the Yorkshire Dales near Kirkby Lonsdale.

The former social workers says she's seen a 16% increase in venue fees recently, which is adding more than £70 a month in extra costs to her already tight budget.

Lauren, who also runs day-long relaxation retreats in nature over the summer months, says:

"As a business, I need to replace that income. That's what it comes down to.

"Either I put my prices up or I've got to find more customers and squeeze more people into the classes just to stand still.

"And it's hard because you want to keep things as accessible as possible. For the regular classes, I feel like I've already reached a ceiling price within my area of what I can charge without people just thinking it's too expensive, so putting up my prices isn't an option."

How do business rates work?

Your bill is worked out using your property's rateable value, set by the Valuation Office Agency, multiplied by a tax rate set by government (the "multiplier").

Your rateable value isn't your bill, but one of the inputs into it.

In December, we published a longer explainer of what the Autumn Budget changed for high-street businesses. This is a short update on what's changed since then.

1. The government has now put the numbers in black and white

Since December, the clearest thing is that the government has formally confirmed the 2026 to 2027 multipliers and the new set-up for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties in England.

From April 2026, new RHL multipliers in England will be set 5p below the national multipliers for qualifying properties with a rateable value below £500,000.

This is funded by a high-value multiplier for properties with a rateable value of £500,000 and above.

For 2026 to 2027, the government has confirmed these headline multipliers (pence in the pound):

• 38.2p (small business RHL)

• 43.0p (standard RHL)

• 48.0p (standard non-domestic)

• 50.8p (high-value non-domestic)

2. The "bill shock" protections are clearer, and they matter for small firms

The same official letter also confirms three things that are easy to miss:

• A redesigned Transitional Relief scheme worth £3.2 billion.

• A one-year Transitional Relief Supplement of 1p on the relevant tax rate for ratepayers who do not receive Transitional Relief or the Supporting Small Business scheme, to help fund Transitional Relief.

• A 2026 Supporting Small Business scheme that caps increases at the higher of £800 or the relevant transitional caps, expanded to ratepayers losing 2025–26 RHL relief.

The detailed guidance then makes the "order of reliefs" explicit.

This means small business rate relief should not be applied again to further reduce a bill that's already been calculated under 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief.

3. Pubs have turned this into a live political row

This is why business rates are back in the headlines.

On 8 January 2026, the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee said it had written to the Chancellor.

In that letter, it warned that the Budget measures could hit hospitality and leisure premises hard, and urged the Treasury to publish its analysis and confirm what further support will be announced.

There has also been prominent media reporting that the Chancellor has promised a change of course, or extra support, that focuses on pubs.

Until any extra package is published and implemented, treat it as a live debate, not something you can plan your business around.

What you should do now

You don't need to learn the whole system. Just carry out these two checks.

1. Check your rateable value and the property details behind it. You can see your current and future rateable value, compare similar properties, and estimate your 2026 to 2027 bill using the official tool on GOV.UK.

2. If the details look wrong, act before the window closes. You can't challenge the future valuation until 1 April 2026, but the guidance is clear that you can raise a "check" against your 2023 valuation and any corrected details carry over to 2026. You have until 31 March 2026 to do that.

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