Tom Kerridge has warned that soaring business rates are pushing pubs towards closure, despite Government relief measures intended to ease the burden on the hospitality sector.
The celebrity chef was speaking to LBC presenter Tom Swarbrick when he claimed that the increases facing his own venues far exceeded figures being cited by ministers.
"I don't know where you got that fifteen per cent, mine is around about 115 per cent," Mr Kerridge said.
"I've got four spaces, four pubs, and all of them are going up over 100 per cent."
Tom Kerridge spoke about soaring business rates on LBC
|LBC
When asked whether Treasury relief would offset the increases, Mr Kerridge dismissed the support as temporary and insufficient.
"That's there to help you get to the end number, so it's not relief to take it away, we're actually just softening the blow," he said.
"We're still going to… It's still killing you off in two or three years. The packages are only helpful for a short period of time."
Mr Kerridge pointed to one of his smaller venues, the Butcher’s Tap and Grill in Marlow, as an example of how the changes could devastate traditional pubs.
The celebrity chef owns The Butcher's Tap and Grill in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
|GOOGLE MAPS
"It's a very small little pub boozer in the middle of Marlow," he said.
"It does burgers, fries, sport on the telly. It's not Michelin star, it's not generating huge revenues."
He explained that such venues are often run by owner-operators who live on site and work long hours for modest returns.
"It's the sort of pub where an owner-landlord would live upstairs, come downstairs, work 70 hours a week and love that kind of space," Mr Kerridge said.
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Tom Kerridge voted for and endorsed high tax socialists. Now he’s got high tax socialism he’s very angry about it. pic.twitter.com/4QjuqsHfBZ
— Patrick Christys (@PatrickChristys) January 6, 2026
"The rates at the minute are £50,000 a year, that’s going up to £124,000 a year. That’s a £74,000 increase in business rates."
He added that for many landlords, the increase would wipe out their entire income.
"If you were the owner of that business and you lived upstairs, that’s all of your wages gone," he said.
"Most operators, most landlords live on site. They operate, they make a little bit of cash, maybe £40,000 or £50,000 a year if they're lucky. The moment the business rates have gone, that's it. What's the point in being open?"
The clip was later shared on X by GB News presenter Patrick Christys, who criticised Mr Kerridge’s political stance.
"Tom Kerridge voted for and endorsed high-tax socialists. Now he’s got high-tax socialism he’s very angry about it," Patrick wrote.
The post triggered a wave of reaction online, with many users accusing the chef of hypocrisy.
Broadcaster Adam Brooks wrote: "Ridiculous. Seems like a lovely man but he’s so deluded. Pubs will close en masse this year, but he’s a multimillionaire, he will be able to soak it up. We won’t. It’s a disgrace."
Patrick Christys accused Mr Kerridge of voting for and endorsed high tax socialists, and now being angry about it
| GB NewsOther viewers were less sympathetic.
"What the hell did he think was going to happen?" one commenter asked.
Another wrote: "A great many of us were pretty ticked off with the Tories, but voting Labour as a result was inexcusable madness."
A further comment added sarcastically: "Next time it will be different. Socialism WILL work."
Others accused Mr Kerridge of detachment from the realities facing smaller operators, branding the situation "champagne socialism backfiring in real time".
Mr Kerridge has previously been vocal about the pressures facing hospitality businesses, particularly rising energy costs, staffing shortages and tax burdens.
However, critics argue that high-profile figures with significant personal wealth are insulated from the consequences now hitting independent landlords.
With business rates set to rise sharply across England, industry figures have warned that thousands of pubs could close unless reforms are introduced.