Revealed: 1,000 London pubs will not qualify for Budget 'beer bonus'

Almost 1,000 London pubs will fail to qualify for the business rates “beer bonus” announced in the Budget yesterday, analysis for the Standard has revealed.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said in his speech yesterday that pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000 will get a one-off £1,000 discount on their bills this year, a move he said would cover 90 per cent across Britain.

But research from rates expert CVS for the Standard, shows that of 3,886 London pubs analysed, only 2,899 will receive the discount.

None of the 30 London pubs facing the biggest increases in rates from April, including The Parcel Yard in King’s Cross, O’Neills on Wardour Street and the Anchor Bankside, will be eligible for the handout because they all have a rateable value of over £100,000.

The World’s End in Camden is among venues that will not get the discount.

Alex Salussolia, managing director of its operator Glendola Leisure, said: “It is disappointing that the Chancellor’s £1,000 discount will not benefit those facing the largest hikes.”

The pub and its Underworld club have won venue of the year awards and hosted artists including Radiohead and The Cranberries.

Cormac Marum, head of tax at accountants Harwood Hutton, said: “Excluding the relief to pubs with a rateable value above £100,000 does discriminate against London.

"The only city centre pubs to benefit are likely to be outside the capital and perhaps outside of the other large cities.”

A spokesman for the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “Only 74 per cent of pubs in London will be eligible for the £1,000 of new rates relief, rather than 90 per cent of across the rest of the country, so around 1,000 London pubs won’t qualify.

“It is therefore vital that London boroughs make use of the Chancellor’s new discretionary relief to ensure that more of London’s pubs get the support they need.”

A Treasury spokesman said that the majority of London pubs will benefit from the discount, but any that do not may qualify for help from a £300 million “hardship fund” for local authorities to distribute to local businesses facing particularly steep increases.