How has the budget affected pubs?

Connor McDiarmid, franchisor of Ale Hub, a micro pub at the heart of local communities, has put together the following observations regarding the recent budget and how it can positively affect the hospitality industry and those thinking of buying a pub franchise.

• Duty Reduced by 1p a pint. This is good news as even though it does not directly affect the price of a pint, it limits how much breweries can increase their prices by. If breweries have had a reduction in tax then there is only so much they can reasonably put up their prices. This means we can maintain the best value for our customers. 
• Increase in Employers National Insurance Allowance. This was doubled from £5,000 to £10,000 and will help small businesses like ourselves and our franchisees absorb the cost of the increase in national insurance contributions from employers. If you are a franchisee with one venue, then this measure will see you save significantly on your NI contributions. For the larger pub companies, the news of NI increasing will be a blow, but for smaller pubs it gives us an advantage as we will not need to increase our prices to cover the increase. 
• Business Rates Relief of 40%. This a reduction in the current 75% but it comes as welcome news, as previously it was unclear as to whether there would be any business rates reduction at all. If small businesses had to pay the full business rates this would have added a significant cost burden. Again larger pub companies will not benefit from this as it is capped at £110,000 total relief. Smaller businesses once again have the advantage of not needing to pay as much in business rates so can maintain lower prices. 
• U-turn on Smoking in Pub Gardens. The government has shelved plans to implement a smoking ban on pub gardens. Again this is good news, as often people will spend hours in a pub garden enjoying themselves, but if they were not allowed to smoke it may put people off coming in at all. The government has recognised pubs do not need added reasons for customers not to come out, so this move is very much welcome (even if it was a bit ill-advised in the first place!)

With Ale Hub's unique business plan, it is a great time to invest in the hospitality industry.  Ale Hub is looking for franchisees across the UK.

Interested and want to know more about Ale Hub?

The Ale Hub profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.

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