Most takeaway owners only think about business rates once a year, when the bill lands. This year is worth paying closer attention to: the discount that’s propped up food and drink premises since 2022 is being wound down just as the Chancellor prepares to announce a fresh round of changes at the Budget on 28 October.
What’s already changed
Since 2022, takeaways, cafes, sandwich shops and other food and beverage premises have had a standing discount on their business rates bill under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme. It started generously — 50% off in 2022/23, rising to 75% for the two years after that — before stepping down to 40% for the year running to 31 March 2026, capped at £110,000 per business across all premises combined.
From 1 April 2026 that relief disappears and is replaced by something more permanent: a lower business rates multiplier built into the system specifically for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties, rather than a discount that has to be renewed and can be scaled back each year. For a takeaway counted as a food and beverage premises, that’s a genuine structural change to how the bill is calculated, not just another short-term discount.
What the Budget could add on top
Ahead of the 28 October Budget, reporting (including by the Sunday Times) says the Chancellor is considering raising the threshold at which small business rates start applying at all — from a rateable value of £12,000 up to £18,000, with some reports suggesting a lower figure around £15,000 is also under discussion. Nothing is confirmed until the Budget documents are published, but the scale being talked about is real: one report put the number of small properties that could be spared a bill altogether at around 75,000 nationally, covering shops, cafes, pubs and salons.
A smaller, counter-service takeaway with a modest shopfront is exactly the kind of premises that sits closest to these thresholds — which is precisely why it’s worth checking where your own rateable value falls, rather than assuming the changes are aimed at bigger high-street names.
What to actually do about it
Two things are worth doing now, whether you run a single counter in Haringey or a chip shop out on the Isle of Mull. First, check your current rateable value using the government’s free Find a business rates valuation service — it only takes a postcode search and tells you exactly where your premises sits relative to the thresholds being discussed. Second, don’t wait for your council to flag a change: relief schemes have historically been applied automatically for most eligible premises, but it’s still worth confirming with your local authority that your account reflects the 40% relief for this final year, since an error here is money left on the table rather than a discount you’re owed automatically forever.
Whatever the Budget confirms on 28 October, the bigger shift — a lower built-in multiplier replacing a temporary discount — is already locked in for April. For a trade that runs on tight margins per order, a change to the fixed cost of the premises itself is worth more attention than the next delivery app fee update.
