19 January 2026
Retailers across Wales are set to receive a 40% cut to their business rates under a new Welsh Government support scheme aimed at helping high street and visitor-facing businesses recover from recent economic pressures.
The Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Rates Relief scheme will apply in 2025-26 and is designed to support shops, cafés, pubs, restaurants and similar businesses operating from occupied premises.
The Welsh Government will provide grant funding to all 22 local authorities to deliver the scheme, with councils responsible for administering applications and awarding relief.
Eligible businesses will receive a 40% discount on their non-domestic rates bills, subject to a cash cap of £110,000 per business across all properties in Wales.
Businesses with multiple premises can claim relief on each eligible property, provided the total support claimed does not exceed the Wales-wide cap.
Retail properties covered by the scheme include shops selling goods to the public, such as supermarkets, charity shops, pharmacies, garden centres and petrol stations.
Hospitality businesses including cafés, coffee shops, pubs, bars, takeaways, restaurants and hotels are also eligible for the discount.
Leisure uses covered by the scheme include gyms, theatres, cinemas, live music venues, tourist attractions and sports facilities.
Relief will apply to properties that are occupied between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 and will be calculated on a daily basis, with applications needing to be submitted to local authorities by 31 March 2026 for businesses to qualify for support in the 2025-26 financial year.
Financial and professional services such as banks, solicitors and accountants are excluded, along with medical services, nurseries, gambling venues and properties not accessible to the public.
Empty properties will not qualify for the scheme, although they may still be eligible for existing empty property rates relief.
Local authority-owned or managed premises, including council-run visitor centres and cafés, are also excluded.
The relief is discretionary, meaning councils will decide whether to apply it in individual cases in line with Welsh Government guidance.
Businesses will be required to declare that they are not exceeding the £110,000 cap and that claims comply with UK subsidy control rules.
Any business found to have deliberately claimed more than the permitted limit risks having all relief withdrawn and may face legal action for fraud.
"I’d be happy to ban Labour MPs if we think it would make a difference?"
Our members have already started the conversation about the "unfairness" of the rates relief for pubs, with none for retailers, over on the forum, which you can access by simply logging into the Bira website. See what fellow retailers think of this decsion and have your say over on Bira Connect.
Bira's advocacy takes your voice to the heart of Parliament
Bira is at the forefront of championing the cause of independent traders and shopkeepers across Britain.
Our campaigns cover a wide spectrum of issues crucial to the success of independent traders including:
- Combatting the rising tide of retail crime
- Advocating for changes in legislation that promote fairness and flexibility
- Fighting for fairer business rates
- Overall reducing the regulatory burden
Image credit: manuta/stock.adobe.com
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