On Budget day, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a penny off a pint, but her measures are more likely to result in a rise of at least 10p.
That’s the view of many industry insiders, who face huge increases in national insurance contributions, among other costs.
Fuller’s chief executive, Simon Emeny, calculates the NI rise alone could cost his firm £8m a year. When asked by The Sun how much a pint might increase he said: “It won’t be as low as 5p. The increase across the industry will be more like 10p.”
He added: “For a government that was supposed to be stimulating economic growth, it will do the exact opposite.”
‘Unintended consequences’
Fuller’s chairman, Michael Turner, said: Turner said: “The Chancellor’s actions are a direct attack on those labour-intensive industries that are the lifeblood of our economy, whilst leaving the large City institutions, that can afford to pay their share, almost completely untouched.
“The unintended consequences of these actions will be to drive inflation higher, put pressure on wages, and will drive many businesses to the wall.”
Simon Dodd, chief executive of pub chain Young’s, said the hit to his company could be as much as £11m. He also highlighted the need for urgent business rate reform.
“We will work to see how we can mitigate these headwinds without passing on all the cost to our loyal customers,” he said. “We would like to see certainty and delivery of real business rate reform which will benefit all hospitality businesses.”
