Top UK Chefs Demand VAT Cut to Save Hospitality Sector

Four of the UK’s most prominent chefs are calling on the government to halve the VAT rate for the hospitality sector, BBC Business reported Thursday. Tom Kerridge, Yotam Ottolenghi, Ravneet Gill, and Simon Rogan told BBC Newsnight that a hospitality VAT cut from 20% to 10% was now a matter of industry survival.

The Case for Cutting VAT

Rogan, who holds nine Michelin stars across his restaurant group, said margins had been gutted to the point where profits had effectively vanished. Ottolenghi, operating 11 venues across London, described the combined burden of taxes as “crippling” for cafes, bakeries, and pubs alike. Kerridge, who runs five restaurants and pubs, argued government policy was getting the taxation of businesses “very, very wrong.” The chefs say a halved VAT rate would allow operators room to reinvest rather than simply keep the lights on.

Also Read: Fed Signals Patience as Rate Cut Timeline Shifts

A Sector Under Sustained Pressure

The hospitality industry has endured a brutal sequence of shocks. The Covid pandemic wiped out trade almost overnight. Energy prices then surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have never fully retreated. Cost-of-living pressures have since pushed consumers to cut discretionary spending, with dining out among the first casualties. Industry body UK Hospitality reports that three hospitality businesses have been closing every single day since January 2026. The sector now carries the second-highest VAT rate in Europe, behind only Denmark. Germany charges 7%, while Ireland, France, Italy, and Spain each sit at 10%.

Also Read: UK Consumer Confidence Falls as Spending Slows

Government Response Falls Short

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden acknowledged businesses had been asked to contribute more, saying the government tried to help where it could. He cautioned that every tax-cut request carried a fiscal cost that Chancellor Rachel Reeves had to weigh against competing spending demands. Last week, Reeves announced a temporary VAT reduction to 5% on selected attractions and children’s meals during summer holidays. But Gill dismissed the move as a shallow gesture likely to create loopholes and misuse rather than genuine relief. Kerridge and his peers also flagged rising employer National Insurance contributions, business rates, and minimum wage increases as compounding the squeeze on thin margins.

Gill pushed back against any perception that profitability was unseemly. She argued the industry’s real contribution was regenerating local economies and employing young workers, with the sector accounting for 28% of all 18-to-20-year-old jobs, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Read Next: UK Retail Sales Disappoint as Consumer Squeeze Bites