Why won’t the SNP do more to save Scotland’s pubs?

One of life’s simple pleasures is meeting up with friends at the local pub, catching up (or venting about the stress of a tough week) over good food and a couple of drinks. But unfortunately it’s becoming more and more difficult to do just that. Much-loved community assets, like the local pub, find themselves closing at a quicker rates than we have seen for years, particularly in Scotland. 

Why is this the case? There are a number of contributing factors, including the legacy of the pandemic, a barrage of rising costs and the impact of a cost-of-living crisis on consumer spending. But the real nail in the coffin has been the absence of any support from the Scottish government for two consecutive years. 

While their counterparts in England and Wales have benefitted from business rates schemes offering relief up to 75 per cent, Scottish businesses have been left to fend for themselves in one of the most challenging economic circumstances in recent memory. Having been widely criticised for its decision not to introduce an equivalent relief scheme in 2022, many hospitality companies were hopeful that when the Deputy First Minister set out her winter budget in December she would support businesses, especially after significant campaigning from ourselves at UKHospitality Scotland. And so, when no support was offered, Scotland’s hospital sector felt like it had been abandoned. It was hard to take, not least because the UK government had extended its own relief scheme for business and given the Scottish government millions of pounds to reciprocate support efforts.

The reality of this approach is stark. A typical Scottish pub will be £15,000 worse off than its equivalent in England. A medium-sized hotel will be £30,000 worse off. Larger businesses have been denied support worth up to £110,000. These are not sums of money that can be found down the back of the sofa. These are the sort of costs that will break businesses and force them to close. 

This isn’t scaremongering: almost 3,000 hospitality businesses closed in the UK in 2023 and many of those were in Scotland. This year, we’ve already seen a spate of closures. Innis and Gunn in Leith, seafood restaurant Scamp and Beer Café in Glasgow and Aberdeen’s Alexanders and Bar Below have all joined the lengthening list of pub and restaurant closures from late last year. Other sad tales include the closure of Brian Maule’s Chardon D’Or in Glasgow and Loch Fyne in Edinburgh. All companies cited the cost of business for their shutting down — and the lack of government support. 

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But it’s not only independent businesses that are closing or in a parlous state. Barburrito shut its biggest Glasgow restaurant earlier this month and Revolution has rationalised its estate. These examples only further exemplify the challenges faced by the bigger players, while other large groups look to cut their costs. Supply chains are also being cut back, as those vital businesses suffer the same untenable cost inflation as the hospitality sector. 

The consequences of companies like these closing are huge. Owners lose both their livelihoods and the business they’ve been building for years. In some cases, they also lose their homes. And more than that, business closure also means, sadly, that jobs are lost, customers lose a place to eat and drink and the community is robbed of a vital asset. 

For those businesses that have been lost, the grim truth is that it’s extremely unlikely they’ll ever return to the hospitality market. But there is a glimmer of hope for those that are still trading. There is still time for the Scottish government to act and play a positive role in keeping them afloat. With the budget yet to be voted on by the Scottish parliament, there is an urgent need for business rates relief schemes to be revisited and for 75 per cent relief to be implemented. A vital lifeline for businesses, this would inspire at least some confidence among hospitality companies that the Scottish government is beginning to have their back — after years of damaging decisions that have eroded businesses’ trust in policymakers. 

Scotland’s government has dedicated time to talking about resetting the relationship with business, but they have yet to meaningfully demonstrate this in their actions. If they’re looking for tips, a good place to start would involve addressing the enormous competitive disadvantage imposed on Scottish hospitality businesses compared to their neighbours in England and Wales. This could even save the sector.

Hospitality in Scotland contributes £7.6 billion to the economy and employs around 200,000 people, never mind the billions it contributes in tax revenue. With the right support, our sector can grow and deliver even more – but without it, those numbers will very quickly diminish. Hospitality can and must be a huge contributor to economic growth in Scotland. The sector has the ability to create thousands of additional good jobs and exciting careers. It can continue to grow its offering to visitors, both from at home and abroad, at the heart of Scotland’s tourist economy. While it’s easy for government to dismiss calls for support when it is looking at numbers on a spreadsheet, there is a bigger picture here. The big question is: will the Scottish government realise that in time?