Pub owner issues 'use it or lose it' warning as taxes and duty force price hike: 'We're trying to stay alive!'

Speaking to GB News, Mark White asked Mr Bridgen: "Would you want people to pay more for a pint in order to save your business?"

He bleakly responded: "Well, it's looking like the only option with the increased taxes on every level and now the stress around rates increase and Valuation Agency.

"I don't know anyone who is making any money, so it feels like the only thing to do is to raise your prices.

"The irony is that actually, at the moment, many of us are putting down our prices to try and get people through the doors.

"In a desperate bid to stay alive. We're having to try and offer even more value in the times.

"But it just feels like an impossible quandary with the duty going up and all of the other challenges.

"I think we're getting to the point where we're going to have to ask if people really value their local, they just use it or lose it."

Pubs nationwide are set to absorb an extra £150million in costs, the British Beer and Pub Association has warned, despite the Government reducing the business rates multiplier in the Budget.

The trade body estimates a typical small pub will see bills rise by £3,867 next year, while medium-sized venues face increases of £11,085.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said: "Once you cut through all the warm words, the cold hard truth is that this Budget let down pubs all across the country."

UK Hospitality has warned pubs face an average 76 per cent increase in business rates, with chief executive Allen Simpson saying closures are now inevitable.

According to a GB News poll, 50 per cent of Britons would pay more for a pint to save their local pub, but the other half feel like their pints are pricey enough.

From April 2026, retail, hospitality, and leisure relief will be replaced with two lower business rate multipliers for properties valued under £500,000.

The lower rates will be balanced by a higher multiplier for properties valued at £500,000 or more.

To ease the impact on businesses facing the biggest increases, the Government will introduce a ‘Transitional Relief’ scheme, capping how much bills can rise as part of a £4.3billion support package.

However, UK Hospitality warns that the changes will still push the average pub’s business rates up by £12,900 over three years, an increase of 76 per cent.

Business rates are calculated using a property’s rateable value, which is based on the cost of renting it for a year.

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