Business rates hikes ‘symbolic of how little Labour is doing to help’ independent drinks retailers
The toll that business rates are taking on independents is “symbolic” of the challenges that the government are piling on high street retailers, according to one indie, who said it had to sell more than 12,160 wines just to cover the latest business rates bill.
A recent LinkedIn post from Taurus Wines in Bramley highlighted the issue, saying that in order purely to pay the shop’s new business rates it had to sell “12,160 bottles of £10 wine – and use all our profits of those to do so”. While managing director Rupert Pritchett said it sold enough premium bottles to cover the costs, “for those relying on selling entry level wines, [it] is suddenly going to get very hard indeed.”
He also pointed out that even before this, the government would “already be making over £20,000 in VAT and over £36,000 in import duty on those 12,000 bottles”.
Speaking to the drinks business Pritchett explained that the increase in rates “is very quick, clean and symbolic of how little Labour is doing to help retailers whilst simultaneously… claiming that it’s helping the High Street and bricks and mortar businesses”.
It follows the government’s plans to cut Covid-era business rate discounts from 75% to 40%, with no discount at all from April 2026, which was announced in the Budget in November. In January, the government announced pubs and music venues would be given a 15% discount on business rates bills from April, with no increases for a further two years, however there was no similar measures for operators in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector.
Perfect storm
Pritchett went on to say that although operation costs had increase, this was not the only issue and the “wilful and systematic destruction of our customer base by successive government policies” was having more affect on its business than the pure increase in overheads.
He pointed out, for example, that as the result of the significant changes to the non-dom tax rules introduced in April 2025, a proportion of its top private clients had “simply left the country”. Meanwhile, the double-whammy of high mortgage rages and the introduction of VAT on school fees last year was having an impact on middle-earners, particularly in the commuter belt outside London where the retailer is based.
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“Being less than an hour from Waterloo this is an area which people typically move to in their late 30’s or early 40’s having done their time in London so that they can bring children up in the leafy countryside and educate them in good schools whilst commuting,” he pointed out. “This set of customers have typically stretched themselves to the very limit in terms of mortgages as they believed they were buying their ‘forever home’ and as a result are very vulnerable to high interest rates.”
But it’s not only the effect on customers. Pritchett cites the knock-on effect from the introduction of VAT on private schools, which is affecting some independents in affluent areas. The reduction of pupil numbers caused by the increase to fees due to VAT has meant the private schools themselves are rapidly closing. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, was quoted in the Independent in January, as saying that more than 100 private schools had closed since the changes were introduced following the Labour government coming into power.
Pritchett points to The Royal School in Haslemere, which is set to close this summer and Longacre School, a prep school in Shamley Green, which is consulting on closure at the end of the academic year, and two others “that are looking extremely dicey” – which jeopardises potential regular revenue streams from PTA and parent events. “It means no trickle down to us in terms of PTA events – typically one or two a term per school plus associated sales,” he explained.
Additionally, Taurus Wines used to supply two of the larger senior school, but these schools are increasingly outsourcing their catering departments to national suppliers to save money, ending a “local small business first” policy.
“This means that we can no longer supply things like events for parents as the big catering firm they have both brought in uses a national supplier for all their sites,” he said. “We are at the stage that for local village, church or charity events where house wine is involved you barely cover costs (if you actually do at all) should you deliver and collect and lend glassware which is expected as part of the service. However, this all important in terms of serving and being part of the local community.”
Taurus Wines has diversified into hosting events, charging for private client storage, and offering wine-related items such as wine cabinets and wine rooms, however, as Pritchett points out “merchants who don’t have that option will struggle.”
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