West End firms warn business rates reform could shutter shops

Mace | 27th September 2025 | Politics

Open_Happiness_Piccadilly_Circus_Blue-Pink_Hour_120917-1126-jikatu

West End retailers, hotels and leisure operators warn that proposed business rates changes in the upcoming Budget could drive many into insolvency. The planned surcharge on high‑value properties may spell ruin for larger premises, with job losses and empty shops spreading beyond central London’s flagship districts.

London’s West End is braced for pain after business owners warned that proposed changes to business rates in the upcoming Budget could tip many into closure. Operators in retail, hospitality and leisure say the burden of rising property‑tax bills will come at the worst possible moment for an already fragile high street. In central London districts famed for tourism and premium retail real estate, a new higher multiplier on properties with significant rateable values could push costs to untenable levels. The West End alone is anticipated to absorb tens of millions of pounds in extra liability. Many businesses argue that past increases in national insurance, energy bills and inflation already squeezed margins. Members of the New West End Company, representing hundreds of shops, hotels and restaurants, have flagged that a 20 per cent rise in business rate bills would compound existing pressures. They warn that closures, job losses and retreat from physical storefronts are now realistic pr...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.