Major pub chain joins Wetherspoon with stark price hike warning after Labour’s Budget

Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny issued the warning during an interview on BBC Radio 4 - (PA)

A major pub chain has joined the growing list of hospitality businesses warning of price rises due to Labour’s Budget.

Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny said “pricing is going to have to go up across the sector”, as there is “no way” that pubs can sustain cost pressures.

“It’s an extra £8m of costs for our business alone,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as he revealed a 5.2 per cent sale growth at Fuller’s in the second half of 2024.

The pub chain currently operates at 380 locations across the UK, most located in southern regions. This puts it below larger chains like Wetherspoons and Greene King.

His comments came after the UKHospitality trade body warned that the sector would face £3.4bn in extra costs from next year when several of Labour’s economic changes come into play.

The body names the coming increase in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) as the most problematic factor. This is the levy employers pay on their employees’ wages, rising from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent from April 2025.

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has already said the changes in the Budget will see prices increase from next year (PA)

Industry figures also warn that wage growth will slow and job losses are likely as pubs and restaurants look to offset costs.

Labour has indicated that it doesn’t consider the rise in employer NICs a tax on working people as it does not come directly out of employees’ wages. However, experts have warned that the knock-on effects will hit workers in the medium term.

“It doesn’t feel like a Budget for working people,” said Mr Emeny, “It doesn’t feel like a Budget for growth. I think it will restrict investment.”

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has also spoken out about the changes, warning that prices at the pub chain will also see a rise from next year.

Mr Martin said: “Cost inflation, which had jumped to elevated levels in 2022, slowly abated in the following two years, but has now jumped substantially again following the Budget,” he recently warned.

“All hospitality businesses, we believe, plan to increase prices, as a result,” he added, as he revealed that running costs are expected to increase by £60m over the next tax year.