Nando’s and Greene King pledge to pass summer VAT cut on to customers

Business leaders from Greene King-managed pubs, Nando’s and Merlin Entertainments are among those promising to pass on savings from the temporary VAT cut to consumers this summer.

The government’s Great British Summer Savings package will see VAT for items on children’s menus decrease from 20% to 5% between 25 June and 1 September.

The pledges were made as chancellor Rachel Reeves convened a roundtable at one of Merlin Entertainments’ theme parks, Chessington World of Adventures.

The chancellor heard from attendees about the impact of the VAT cut on their businesses as well as wider views on the challenges and opportunities facing them and the sector as a whole.

Reeves said: “I want families to be able to enjoy the little treats this summer. Great British Summer Savings will help families enjoy time making memories together while boosting business across the UK.”

Fiona Eastwood, chief executive at Merlin Entertainments, added: “It’s encouraging to see the sector come together to help families save more this summer. By reducing VAT on days out, the Great British Summer Savings initiative will give people more opportunities to get out, explore and turn everyday moments into memorable experiences.”

While hospitality industry associations have broadly welcomed the temporary reduction as a positive step, some operators have criticised the move, including Chris Jowsey, chief executive of Admiral Taverns, who described it as a “joke” in comments to The Guardian.

The 1,300-strong pub group’s head added that the resulting discount was “so small it’s embarrassing” and that it would not help pubs that do not serve food.

Some venues have already tried to circumvent the cut’s parameters, with Blue Stoops pub in London’s Kensington launching a ‘chancellor’s children’s menu’, featuring children’s-sized portions of anchovies, snails and a ‘tax break tart’.

Meanwhile, Mayfair restaurant Kitty Fisher’s took to Instagram following the announcement to say it would introduce a kids’ menu this summer “featuring lobster, steak au poivre, oysters, offal, snail and all the good stuff KIDS love”.

Many in the industry are backing the VAT’s the Problem campaign, which calls for the government to permanently cut hospitality VAT to 10%, in line with Europe.

The campaign is urging all hospitality leaders and their teams to sign the petition calling for VAT relief ahead of the VAT’s the Problem consumer launch on 1 July. So far, more than 225,000 signatures have been gathered.

Photo: Mareks Perkons/Shutterstock