The latest British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) update — penned by its CEO Andrew Goodacre — paints a bleak picture for many smaller UK shops, despite changes announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget.
Goodacre warns that most independent retailers will face higher business rates next year — not the relief many had hoped for.
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New multipliers fall short for high street shops
The Budget introduces lower business-rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) premises: 38.2p in the pound for properties up to £51,000 rateable value, and 43p for those between £51,000 and £500,000, from April 2026.
Yet, according to Goodacre, the reductions are negligible compared with earlier proposals:
“The original proposals talked about reducing multipliers by up to 20p for smaller properties and 10p for larger ones,” he notes. “What we actually got was a 5p reduction. Five pence. And even that modest cut has been more than swallowed up by increases in rateable values.”
As a result, many independent shops are still expecting significantly higher bills next year. Goodacre writes that even with reliefs and support, “most shops will see a minimum £800 increase or a 15% increase in their business rates bill next year.”
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By GlobalDataCost pressures deepen amid wages, valuations and import competition
The strain on retailers does not end with business rates. Goodacre emphasises that the timing of the Budget — just weeks before Christmas — comes at a “worst possible time”.
Retailers are also contending with rising wage costs. Meanwhile, valuations on small high-street units are increasing faster than on larger retail parks or superstores, creating what Goodacre describes as an “unfair system.”
He adds that many independent retailers face additional pressure from overseas competition. The delay until 2029 to close the so-called import-duty loophole leaves them vulnerable:
“Business rates aren’t coming down for most shops despite government claims, labour costs are rising well above inflation, and we’ve got another four years of being undercut by overseas sellers before the import duty loophole finally closes.”
Limited support fails to address structural problems
Though the Budget includes extensions such as allowing the expanded Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) to apply even when a retailer opens a second premises — a measure Goodacre calls “genuinely helpful for growing independents” — Bira argues that this falls far short of necessary reform.
He concludes that the Government has missed a real opportunity: “Instead, what we got was a masterclass in political spin that masks a harsh reality — most independent retailers will be paying significantly more in business rates next year, not less.”
Bira says it will continue to press for wholesale reform of business rates, faster action on import-duty loopholes and a fairer environment for small retailers across the UK.
