Pub business rates remain one of the largest fixed costs facing the UK pub sector. With pub business rates due to rise again from April, and only partial relief available under the government’s latest concessions, operators are bracing for yet another squeeze on margins from rising pub business rates bills.

Using official rating data matched against a commercial property dataset that tracks over 3 million commercial locations across the UK, we’ve ranked the Top 20 pub operators by total pub business rates bill, highlighting which companies carry the heaviest pub business rates burden — and what this means for the wider pub industry. While these operators represent only a small subset of all commercial properties nationwide, they account for a significant share of hospitality-related pub business rates and are particularly exposed to changes in the rating system.

Why Business Rates Matter More Than Ever

For many operators, business rates now exceed rent, utilities, or staffing costs on a per-site basis. This is particularly acute for:

• High-street pubs with large footprints
• Food-led venues assessed on turnover-linked valuations
• Urban managed estates rather than tenanted models

From April, the multiplier increase and revaluation adjustments will push pub business rates higher for many sites, even after transitional relief. While the government has recently announced continued concessions for hospitality businesses, including pubs, these measures are largely time-limited and capped, offering only partial protection against rising pub business rates.

Learn more about the current government support package for pubs here.

In practice, many operators still face material net increases in pub business rates bills once relief thresholds are exceeded or support tapers away.

Top 40 Pub Operators by Total Business Rates Bill

The table below ranks pub operators by total annual business rates payable, based on ratepayer data along with an overall average rateable value per unit. Note these are the ratepayer name not the trading name. Companies will also use different companies based on their corporate structure.

Company No	Ratepayer Name	Total Rates Bill	No Units	Avg Rateable Value
00024542	MITCHELLS & BUTLERS RETAIL LTD	£87,629,750	990	£88,515
01709784	J D WETHERSPOON PLC	£58,098,525	590	£98,472
FC029833	STONEGATE PUB COMPANY LTD	£32,321,450	414	£78,071
00031461	MARSTONS PLC	£29,417,225	681	£43,197
04120344	WHITBREAD PLC	£28,327,850	133	£212,991
05266811	SPIRIT PUB COMPANY (SERVICES) LTD	£27,078,850	347	£78,037
00024511	GREENE KING PLC	£20,308,050	353	£57,530
03298903	GREENE KING BREWING & RETAILING LTD	£17,747,250	216	£82,163
00029423	WHITBREAD GROUP PLC	£14,822,450	63	£235,277
00241882	FULLER SMITH & TURNER PLC	£13,545,650	111	£122,033
00032762	YOUNG & CO’S BREWERY PLC	£11,222,150	93	£120,668
04551498	MITCHELLS & BUTLERS PLC	£10,473,600	100	£104,736
05335601	AMBER TAVERNS LTD	£6,377,775	148	£43,093
07662835	SPIRIT PUB COMPANY LTD	£4,930,600	69	£71,458
01543132	BRUNNING & PRICE LTD	£4,904,625	38	£129,069
09429990	THE CRAFT UNION PUB COMPANY LIMITED	£4,304,725	135	£31,887
00051456	MCMULLEN & SONS LTD	£4,195,150	45	£93,226
06754332	ORCHID PUBS & DINING LTD	£4,146,250	38	£109,112
00138256	SHEPHERD NEAME LTD	£3,771,550	58	£65,027
00052099	S A BRAIN & CO LTD	£3,715,000	73	£50,890

This allows comparison not only of overall scale, but also of how heavily individual pubs are being taxed through business rates on average.

Who Pays the Most in Business Rates?

At the top of the ranking are the largest managed and mixed-estate operators, including national pub groups, food-led chains and brewers with substantial retail estates. With hundreds of sites each, even relatively small valuation changes translate into multi-million-pound increases in business rates across entire portfolios.

However, the Top 20 also reveals meaningful variation in average pub business rates per pub, suggesting:

• Premium or city-centre locations
• Large-format destination venues
• Strong food and beverage turnover assumptions built into pub business rates valuations

This continues to fuel concerns across the sector that current pub business rates valuation models penalise operational success rather than reflecting underlying property value, creating a system where investment and growth can lead directly to higher tax exposure.

April Business Rates Rise and Government Concessions: What Do They Mean for Pubs?

The government has confirmed that:

• Business rates multipliers are increasing from April
• Hospitality relief will continue, but at a reduced and capped level
• Support remains temporary rather than structural reform of pub business rates

For official guidance on how multipliers and relief apply to retail, hospitality and leisure premises, read this

While support such as Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief aims to provide short-term help with pub business rates, many in the pub industry argue that:

• Relief does not offset broader cost inflation
• Smaller independent operators hit caps more quickly on pub business rates relief
• Planning investment remains difficult amid ongoing policy uncertainty

As a result, total sector exposure to business rates is still expected to rise, even with concessions in place.

Important Data Caveats and Methodology on Business Rates

While the ranking provides useful insight into relative exposure within the pub sector, several important caveats apply when interpreting business rates data.

1. Ratepayer Name Is Not the Same as Trading Brand

The figures are based on the legal ratepayer entity, not the customer-facing pub brand. This means:

• Multiple brands may sit under a single company for pub business rates purposes
• Franchise or locally branded pubs may not appear by name in pub business rates data
• Property-holding entities may differ from operating brands

As a result, some well-known pub brands may not be directly visible in the pub business rates table, even though their sites are included within group totals.

2. Property Counts May Include Non-Pub Sites

Some ratepayers operate mixed estates that can include:

• Hotels
• Restaurants
• Leisure venues

Where these are rated under the same entity, they may slightly increase total property counts and pub business rates liabilities, although the majority of listed properties remain pub-led.

3. Business Rates Reflect Valuation Assumptions, Not Profitability

Higher pub business rates do not imply higher profitability. Many pubs facing large pub business rates bills continue to operate on:

• Tight margins
• Rising labour costs
• Significant energy and supply chain pressures

For context on available reliefs and eligibility.

4. This Represents a Small Sample of the UK Commercial Market

This Top 20 ranking is drawn from a dataset tracking over 3 million commercial locations across the UK, spanning hospitality, retail, offices, logistics and mixed-use properties. The pub operators listed here therefore represent only a small fraction of total commercial ratepayers, even though pubs occupy a disproportionately prominent position in pub business rates debates due to their community role, employment impact and vulnerability to fixed-cost increases.

The ranking should therefore be read as an indicator of relative exposure to pub business rates within the pub sector, rather than a reflection of total national business rates distribution.

What This Means for the Pub Industry and Future Pub Business Rates

With April’s changes approaching, pub operators once again face:

• Rising fixed property taxes through higher pub business rates
• Temporary relief rather than permanent reform of pub business rates
• Ongoing pressure on site viability and investment decisions

For large groups, this increasingly drives portfolio optimisation and selective closures. For smaller and regional operators, pub business rates rises can quickly become the tipping point between sustainability and exit from the market.

Without deeper reform of how pub business rates are calculated, particularly for food-led and community venues, the sector is likely to remain under sustained financial pressure despite continued government support announcements.