Business rates

From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 a 15% relief will be available on all business rates bills for eligible businesses classified as pubs and live music venues.

To qualify for this relief the property must meet all of the following conditions:

They are wholly or mainly used:

• as a pub
• as a live music venue.

Pubs

We consider a pub to mean a property where all of the following criteria apply:

• it is open to the general public
• allows free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided
• allows drinking without requiring food to be consumed
• permits drinks to be purchased at a bar.

This does not include restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, snack bars, hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, festival sites, theatres, cinemas, museums, exhibition halls, casinos.  Please note this list is not exhaustive and will be down to the Local Authority to determine those cases where eligibility is unclear.

Live music venues

We consider a live music venue to mean a property that:

a) is wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience

b) can be used for other activities but only if those other activities:

• are ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music (e.g. the sale of food or drink to audience members)
• do not affect the primary use of the premises for the performance of live music (e.g. because the activities are infrequent such as use of the venue as a polling station or fortnightly community event).

This does not include properties which are wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or theatre.

Apply for pubs and live music venues relief