Pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars and live music venues across Wales will receive additional business rates support for a year from April.
Around 4,400 hospitality businesses will be eligible for 15% relief on their rates bills in 2026-27.
Business organisations said that whilst the support is welcome, it still excludes many businesses across the hospitality and leisure sectors. They also highlighted that the support is only for one year, saying the short-term fix was symptomatic of a business rates system that needed “urgent” and “proper” reform.
The Welsh Government is providing up to £8 million for the package, using funding from the UK Government but also deploying its own funds to extend the range of businesses helped in Wales, it said.
The UK Government has already announced that pubs and music venues in England will be given a 15% discount on their business rates bills from April, and will not see increases in real terms for a further two years.
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford 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.”
David Chapman, Executive Director of UKHospitality Cymru, said:
“The additional 15% relief is helpful to some but it’s notable that this is only a one-year commitment, which is a significant difference to the three years committed to in England.
“Welsh Government’s inclusion of restaurants and cafes, alongside pubs, is clear recognition that this is a hospitality-wide problem, yet this is far from a hospitality-wide solution.
“Rates bills will still be going up year-on-year, even for those receiving relief, and hotels, which were facing the biggest increases, have been excluded completely.
“It’s positive that additional funding has been used to support hospitality but it was the Welsh Government’s decision to exclude hospitality from business rates support that has led to this situation.
“We need a swift end to this unjust system, which challenges business viability, investment and growth. Hospitality still needs to see proper business rates reform and action to reduce the cost of doing business.”
The Federation of Small Business’ Head of Wales Joshua Miles said:
“We’ve been highlighting the large increases in business rates facing hospitality and leisure businesses for some time, so it’s good to see Welsh Government respond with additional relief for some businesses.
“Although this news will bring a welcome, temporary reprieve for food and drink hospitality businesses and music venue owners, small firms across the rest of the hospitality and leisure sectors will be incredibly disappointed to not have been considered for support.
“Losing the previous 40 per cent discount, on top of April’s revaluation of the rateable value of premises, will take a heavy toll on small firms, threatening jobs and our high streets.
“The fact that this is another one-year temporary relief reflects a pattern of short-term fixes in a complicated and often arbitrary business rates system that needs urgent reform.”
Swansea BID Manager, Andrew Douglas, said:
“We welcome the Welsh Government’s decision to provide a 15% reduction in business rates for hospitality businesses. While the sector continues to face real cost pressures, this measure represents a necessary and targeted response, and it will provide meaningful, immediate transitional support for restaurants, pubs and live music venues across Swansea.”
“This decision reflects the strength of the case that has been consistently put forward on behalf of the city’s businesses. Through Swansea BID, and by working closely alongside the CBI, we have been clear about the challenges facing Swansea's hospitality sector and the need for targeted relief. I’m pleased that those representations have been listened to, and this support will help businesses remain resilient as they continue to trade through a challenging period.”
Eligible businesses can apply for the relief through their local authority from April 2026.
