‘I run London’s officially most f***ed pub – our rates are going up more than 600%’

London’s ‘most f***ed pubs’ have officially been revealed, with one popular local facing a more than 600% increase in business rates.

The Sun Tavern in Bethnal Green, east London, has been rated the ‘most f***ed’ out of all venues in the capital as they are set to see a 632.1% increase in rateable value.

This will lead to an extra £70,800 per year, and is more than six times what other businesses in the area are facing, according to new rating website ismypubf***ed.com.

Owner Andy Kerr told Metro: ‘It is absolutely crazy. We have been trading for 11 years and I won’t lie we are very popular. At weekends we are packed.

‘But how can I possibly afford this? I’ll have no choice but to close the business – I will hardly be able to sell it because who on earth would want to buy with the rates so high?’

Rateable value is measured based on a building’s size and location, and determines how much the owner needs to pay in rates.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she is ‘particuarly concerned’ about the effect the rise of business rates will have on pubs.

And in April, Covid-era relief will officially end and sites will be revalued if they haven’t already.

But Andy said his building can only seat 60 people, and has significantly smaller square footage compared to others in the area who are not seeing anywhere near as big an increase.

In east London, the pub facing the second highest rate increase is the Fox and Hounds, with a 362.2% jump.

But this is still nearly half of what Andy is now scrambling to afford.

He said: ‘No one has come out to see me or talk to me about the increases, so I don’t understand why ours has gone up so much.

‘We are so busy we even would have been able to afford it being doubled. But we are fortunate in that respect, as a lot of other places are living hand to mouth.’

The website has taken official data from the Valuation Office Agency to see who has the largest increases to create the ‘F***ed Pub Index’ (FPI).

They compared the current 2023 Rating List with the 2026 Draft Rating List – set to be brought in in 2026 – to see who has the highest increases.

If a pub will see a more than 200% increase, they will be given the ‘Absolutely F***ed status’ on the FPI.

And if a pub is seeing a 100-200% jump, they will be categorised as ‘F***ed’, and and 50-100% they are deemed to be ‘Struggling’.

During Prime Minister’s Questions on January 14, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said 7,000 pubs ‘were closed under the Tories’.

ONS data shows there were 44,680 public houses and bars in the UK registered with HM Revenue and Customs for VAT or PAYE in March 2010, two months before David Cameron became prime minister when the Conservatives won that year’s general election.

This figure had fallen to 37,875 in March 2024, three months before Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister.

It comes as  a new poll from Survation for the UK Spirits Alliance revealed that nearly three in ten pubs (equivalent to around 11,000 venues across the UK) believe they may not survive next year.

Meanwhile the  British Beer and Pub Association warned the Chancellor pubs are at tipping point, with one predicted to close every day this year.

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