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Georgian restaurant blames rates rise for closure

Jessica Lanein Louth
BBC A man in a dark suit jacket and open-necked, checked, grey shirt stands in a large dining room in a Georgian building. Behind him are two large arch windows and a grandfather clock. The sun is shining through the window BBC
Andrew Leonard says rents and rates are "crazy"

A man who "spent a small fortune" on opening a restaurant in a Georgian building says rising costs have forced him to close.

Andrew Leonard said the Mansion House, in Louth, Lincolnshire, had been "very popular" and regularly booked up.

But an impending £3,500 rise in rateable value on top of staffing costs, National Insurance payments and energy bills, had been the "final straw", he added.

The government said it was reforming business rates to back hospitality venues, with a £4.3bn support package to limit increases to bills, and a 5p cut to the business rates tax rate for high street firms.

Leonard said: "Unless the government wakes up and smells the coffee, there's trouble ahead.

"Rents are crazy, rates are crazy. We're living in a ridiculous world."

Andrew Leonard A room has a grand piano and lots of blue chairs arranged in a semi circle. It has blue painted walls and low-hanging strip lights. Andrew Leonard
The Mansion House, formerly used as a library, before it was renovated

The Mansion House, on Upgate, Louth, was built in about 1750 and is a Grade II* listed property.

Leonard described the restoration, which began in 2017, as a "major project" which had been done to "a very high standard".

"Everything in life is a gamble. I always knew this day may come," he said.

"I didn't think I'd necessarily get a return on my investment, I just walked in through the front door and fell in love with it."

A large room with yellow walls and a dark-wood floor is viewed from above. It has a fireplace and tables laid out in small groups with chairs. Some plaster busts rest in alcoves and a metal light fitting with candle-style bulbs can be seen in the foreground.
Fewer than 6% of listed buildings are awarded Grade II* status

Katrina Pierce, of the Lincolnshire Federation of Small Businesses, said firms were facing an "April cost crunch".

"Businesses are not asking for a handout," she added. "What they're asking for is a bit of headroom from the weight of the pressures.

"Some of those are cost pressures, some are around regulation, some are legislation, some are taxation.

"They just need a bit of breathing room."

A spokesperson for HM Treasury, which sets business rates, said: "We have the right economic plan – we're reforming business rates to back hospitality, with a £4.3bn support package to limit bills rises, alongside capping corporation tax at 25%, cutting red tape and taking action on the cost of living to boost the sector.

"We're also cutting the business rates tax rate by 5p for high street businesses, funded by higher bills for the top 1% most expensive properties – meaning many big online warehouses now pay a 33% higher rate than small high street premises."

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