Tackle business rates to avoid the death of the High Street, says Mitchells & Butlers pub boss

The boss of Mitchells and Butlers has warned that high streets are “going to die” without radical business rates reform to offset rising budget costs.

Phil Urban, chief executive of the 1,700-strong pub group behind the Harvester and All Bar One chains, said his company alone faces £100m in extra costs.

Pets at Home also warned of an £18m hit, as a profit warning saw its shares fall 17 per cent to a four-year low.

The pain on the high street follows the Chancellor’s decision to increase employer-paid National Insurance – despite a manifesto pledge not to do so – and deliver a rise in the minimum wage to stamp out inflation.

Rachel Reeves failed to deliver on her promise to replace business rates with a fairer system. Instead, it left businesses facing higher bills starting in April.

The High Street has demanded urgent fares reform to ease the shock. “Main streets are going to die if they don’t do it,” Urban said.

The issue has been highlighted by the Mail’s Save Our High Streets campaign.

Reeves simply started a “conversation” about what reform would look like and promised changes in 2026.

“The irony is that any business rates relief we end up getting has been more than offset by the change in the National Insurance rate,” Urban added.

His company, which employs 45,000 people, will face pressure to increase prices in a bid to retain workers.

Mr Urban branded Labor “naive” for depriving retail and hospitality of support and hitting them with higher costs as they were the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.

Despite the budget gloom, Urban praised the return to profits for the year to September 28 after the pub group posted profits of £199m against losses of £13m last year due to high utility bills. energy.

Her concerns were shared by Pets at Home chief executive Lyssa McGowan, who called the budget “disappointing” and said she was “studying” whether she would have to raise prices after an £18m hit to employment costs. .

A House of Lords report published today also warns that “revitalizing a high street in crisis is no easy task”.