LONDON, Oct. 28 — England has reduced business-rates multipliers for eligible shops, but testimony from independent retailers points to pressures beyond property taxes as Chancellor John Healey prepares to present the 2026 Budget.
From April 2026 through March 2027, qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England with rateable values below £500,000 have multipliers five pence per pound below their national equivalents, HM Treasury says. The qualifying small-business multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure properties valued below £51,000 is 38.2 pence per pound. Properties valued at £500,000 or more face a multiplier 2.8 pence per pound above the national standard, helping fund reductions for smaller properties.
In his Oct. 13 evidence, British Independent Retailers Association Chief Executive Andrew Goodacre said one nearby supermarket would save £70,000 in annual rates for three years, while independent retailers along Coventry’s high street faced increases of at least 15%. He cited employment, supply-chain and energy costs, adding, “It cannot be about business rates alone.” Goodacre also told MPs that a 75% discount in 2024 cost the Treasury £2.5 billion and said the then-current £900 million in relief was too little.
Al Jazeera reported that Surpreet Suri, owner of The New Photo Company in Birmingham, was considering moving to reduce costs. The outlet said the photography business, founded by Suri’s father 40 years ago, had gone from four locations to one. Suri used the phrase “working our fingers to the bone,” Al Jazeera reported, and the outlet said refilling a professional printer with ink costs about £2,000.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said online purchases made up 28.8% of all retail sales in Great Britain in September, compared with 28.9% the month before. The figure covers retail overall, not high-street sales specifically.
Healey was scheduled to deliver the Budget at 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 p.m. GMT) Wednesday, Oct. 28, with Treasury documents due afterward. Further business-rates relief had not been announced ahead of his statement.
