A major pub chain has joined the growing list of hospitality businesses warning of price rises due to Labour’s Budget.
Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeney said “pricing is going to have to go up across the sector,” as there is “no way” that pubs can sustain cost pressures.
“It’s an extra £8 million of costs for our business alone” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as he revealed a 5.2 per cent sale growth at Fuller’s in the second half of 2024.
The pub chain currently operates at 380 locations across the UK, most located in southern regions. This puts it below larger chains like Wetherspoons and Greene King.
His comments come after the UKHospitality trade body warned that the sector faced £3.4 billion in extra costs from next year when several of Labour’s economic changes come into play.
The body names the coming increase employer national insurance contributions (NICs) as the most problematic factor. This is the levy employer’s pay on their employees’ wages, rising from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent from April 2025.
Industry figures also warn that wage growth will slow and job losses are likely as pubs and restaurants look to offset costs.
Labour has indicated that it doesn’t consider the rise in employer NICs a tax on working people as it does not come directly out of employees wages. But experts have warned that the knock-on effects will hit workers in the medium-term.
“It doesn’t feel like a Budget for working people,” said Mr Emeny, “It doesn’t feel like a Budget for growth. I think it will restrict investment.”
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has also spoken out about the changes, warning that prices at the pub chain will also see a rise from next year.
Mr Martin said: “Cost inflation, which had jumped to elevated levels in 2022, slowly abated in the following two years, but has now jumped substantially again following the Budget,” he recently warned.
“All hospitality businesses, we believe, plan to increase prices, as a result,” he added, as he revealed that running costs are expect to increase by £60 million over the next tax year.