Beauty industry bodies are calling for support now the Government has confirmed a U-turn on planned business rates increases for pubs, without extending the same relief to salons, barbershops and clinics.
Having signalled in early January that the change was likely to be made for pubs, the Government confirmed today (January 27) that pubs and music venues in England will be given a 15% discount on their business rates from April 2026, with no increase for two years.
The announcement follows sustained lobbying from the hospitality sector and concerns about the impact on high street venues.
However, no equivalent concession has been announced for the hair and beauty industry, despite mounting pressure on independent, premises-based businesses.
Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves said: "If we’re going to restore the pride in our communities, we need our pubs and our high streets to thrive....Thriving local businesses, bustling high streets and pride restored in our communities – that’s what this government is delivering."
The U-turn on the rise in rates for pubs followed fierce campaigning from the hospitality sector, with more than 1,000 pubs banning Labour MPs.
In late December, the Salon Employers Association launched a similar campaign, calling on its members to ban MPs from salons until action was taken to support the sector.
Beauty industry reaction
The British Beauty Council's chief policy and sustainability officer Victoria Brownlie said, "The cumulative costs of running a salon are causing business to be increasingly untenable across the hairdressing and beauty sector. National insurance increases, higher costs for energy, utilities and goods, and most recently, a significant increase in business rates are causing dramatic profit losses. This is in addition to longstanding issues around how little our service based businesses can reclaim in VAT.
She added, "The Government's additional relief for pubs this week must be extended to include hospitality, retail and leisure properties on our struggling high streets. Without this, the hair and beauty sectors previous reputation for being a cornerstone of the British high street and consistently accounting for the top three businesses in our towns and cities, will be a thing of the past."
The Government's move to support pubs also prompted response from the National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF), which said the decision highlights a lack of recognition for the economic and social value of the sector.
Sam Silver, head of policy and public affairs at the NHBF, said: “The hair and beauty sector contributes £9 billion to the UK economy and employs over 275,000 people, yet we’re being completely overlooked in discussions about business rates relief.
“Our independent salons, barbershops and clinics face exactly the same challenges as pubs with soaring business rates, rising labour costs and premises-based operations on the high street.
“But unlike pubs, we’re also battling a VAT threshold that’s preventing business growth and costing the Treasury.
“If the Government is serious about supporting high street businesses and economic growth, they need to extend this relief to all independent, premises-based retailers including the hair and beauty sector that serves communities across the country every single day.”
Industry bodies have repeatedly warned that rising business rates, combined with increases in the National Living Wage, energy costs and ongoing supply pressures, are putting many salons at risk and called for a fundamental review of the business rates system, arguing that it disproportionately impacts labour-intensive, high street businesses such as hair and beauty.
With many salons operating on tight margins and still recovering from the long-term impact of the pandemic, sector leaders say any relief offered to pubs should be applied consistently across all comparable businesses.
The hair and beauty industry is urging ministers to recognise the sector as an essential part of the high street economy – and to ensure it is not excluded from measures designed to support business growth and local communities.
