CEO BLOG - NEW YEAR - SAME CHALLENGES

09 January 2026

Our Pulse Survey for the festive period shows a slightly better trading period for many, with spend rising faster than footfall, possibly driven by price inflation.

Turnover was also positive but tempered.

But that doesn’t mitigate the ongoing challenge of profitability.

While inflation has eased, it is still running at over 3%, and the impact of previous price rises remains.

And while customers’ desire to get out and enjoy our great pubs, restaurants and hotels remains strong, squeezed disposable incomes are leaving many cash-strapped and less able to spend.

This is made worse by the excessive tax burden placed on our industry by both the Northern Ireland and UK Governments.

That’s why our primary focus for the year ahead remains:

• Securing a fairer rates system, especially for pubs, which pay rates based on turnover rather than square footage; and

• Achieving a reduced VAT rate for our sector as businesses struggle to compete with similar offerings in the Republic of Ireland (where VAT is 13% and is due to reduce further on food from July), and the global tourism market.

We are already working alongside our counterparts in the UK to lobby Westminster for an immediate VAT cut of 5%, whilst gathering support for a pilot in Northern Ireland that would see VAT cut to similar rates enjoyed by our ROI counterparts.

We are meeting the Finance and Economy Ministers next week as we redouble our efforts to see progress on our campaigns to secure a fair rates system that supports our pubs, and their commitment to join us in our lobby of Westminster for  the VAT pilot.

Alongside Rates and VAT, we remain committed to protecting our members’ businesses, promoting their economic value, and developing the skilled workforce needed to support future growth when it comes.

We know from experience that if we gave up every time we were told “no”, there would have been no changes to Sunday opening, no changes to Easter opening, and we could have seen legislation banning all promotions.

We would have seen the removal of the surrender principle, and the industry would have received less financial support during the pandemic.

Affecting change isn’t easy - especially with Government. It takes sustained, evidence-led lobbying and it can (and often does) take years.

Sometimes our biggest wins are stopping damaging proposals, or securing improvements, before they are ever introduced.

These are battles we have led for some time and, despite the pushback and being told “no”, they are battles we must continue to fight and win.

If we don’t push back, if we don’t lobby government, and if we don’t keep asking, the answer will always be “no”, and nothing will change.