Steve Perez: prime minister lied over tax assurances

Hotel operator and drinks entrepreneur Steve Perez has claimed that Keir Starmer misled him over support for the hospitality sector.

Perez, who runs Casa Hotels, Peak Edge hotel and drinks business Global Brands, said the prime minister had told him personally that he had “nothing to fear from Labour”, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph.

He said that the 27-bedroom Peak Edge hotel in Derbyshire will see its business rates rise by £45,000 as a result of changes announced in last month’s Budget after the hospitality sector had received “the opposite of support”.

Perez said: “This is the straw that’s going to break the camel’s back for many hospitality businesses.

“The worst thing is, this has been done through the back door because I listened to the Budget and Rachel Reeves said it was going to be a golden era for hospitality.”

Operators across the country are facing far higher business rates than expected, having anticipated some relief in Rachel Reeves’s Budget.

Despite the chancellor announcing a small cut to the multiplier used to calculate business rates, it has become clear that most businesses will see a significant increase in their tax bill, even when taking into account a three-year Transitional Relief scheme.

Last week Heath Ball, publican and owner of the Red Lion & Sun and the Angel Inn in London’s Highgate, told The Caterer: “The hospitality sector has been gaslit. We were promised a reform in business rates and they lied. How can a pub in Northamptonshire be paying more than an Amazon warehouse in Northamptonshire?”

“Business rates are nothing but a success tax. Pubs are rated based on turnover, so the more successful you are, the more you pay. My rateable value went from £84,000 to £139,000, which means £60,000 a year payable. My transitional relief to help with the massive spike in payable rates is £388.”