Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief

On 27 January 2026, the government announced that eligible pubs and live music venues in England will receive a 15% reduction on their business rates bills for the 2026/27 financial year.
To be eligible for this relief the property must be wholly or mainly occupied:

  • as a Pub or
  • as a live music venue 

Pubs

The government guidance considers a pub to mean a property where all the following criteria apply.

A premises that: 

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

For these purposes, the meaning of a pub does not include:

  1. restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, snack bars
  2. hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses
  3. sporting venues
  4. festival sites, theatres, cinemas
  5. museums, exhibition halls
  6. casinos

Live music venues

The government guidance considers a live music venue to mean a property that:

  1. Is wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience
  2. Can be used for other activities but only if those other activities:
  • are ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music (for example the sale of food or drink to audience members)
  • do not affect the primary use of the premises for the performance of live music (for example because the activities are infrequent such as use of the venue as a polling station or fortnightly community event)

Properties are not a live music venue for the purpose of this relief if the property is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre, for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended).

The full guidance can be found here: GOV.UK - Business rates: Pubs and live music venues relief - local authority guidance.

To apply for pubs and live music venues relief, please complete an application via our general enquiries form: Contact Us