Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq has made an urgent call for reform of the 'fundamentally broken' business rates system in the upcoming Budget and signalled support for Labour's controversial workers' rights package. According to her comments on the Today Programme, business rates have been a significant factor in the decline of high streets, noting that Co-op's own bill had seen a 20 per cent rise within two years.
She said: "We've long called for reform for the business rates system, which we believe is fundamentally broken. "And you only have to look at our 海角视频 high streets to see that it's an issue."
Business rates, often likened to a council tax for commercial entities, particularly those with brick-and-mortar operations, have been central to intense lobbying efforts from High Street businesses. While there has been some respite since the pandemic through a temporary relief measure, many firms, especially in retail and hospitality sectors dependent on a physical presence, are facing increasing charges.
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The impending tapering off of this relief on 31 March has sparked concern across the sector, prompting over 170 hospitality businesses including notable names such as JD Wetherspoon, Caffe Nero, and IHG Hotels to append their signatures to an open letter earlier in the week. They collectively warned of a staggering £900m impact due to the change, highlighting the breadth of opposition to the current structure, as reported by .
Ms Khoury-Haq, who made history as the Co-op's first female chief executive in 2022, has joined the chorus of voices expressing concern over rising business rates. She stated: "For us, our business rates have increased £20m over the last two years that's 20 per cent up to £111m per annum. So, we are hoping that the Budget will address that in order for us to be able to revitalise our high streets.
"There needs to be protection of bricks and mortar stores and there needs to be equity in terms of online businesses paying their share of tax as well... For us, we are the most shopped shop on the retail high street we have 2.5m transactions every day, over 800m transactions per year. We are absolutely committed to staying on the high street as long as it's affordable for us."
The supermarket boss also voiced support for Labour's worker's rights package, provided businesses are properly consulted.
She said: "When we look at the workers' rights that have been proposed by the government, we're actually encouraged to see a number of things that we've been doing for some time being put on a statutory footing."
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The government's workers' rights overhaul was a key policy in the Labour Party's manifesto in the lead-up to this summer's general election. Some in business view it as a much-needed update to labour regulations, whereas various small business associations caution that it could impose burdensome and costly administrative duties on employers who are already under pressure.
Ms Khoury-Haq called on the government to conduct thorough discussions with the industry. She said: "To businesses, I would say: 'Do look at other businesses that have been doing this for some time, and look at the benefits that they've derived from being able to keep their employees in the workforce, and motivated.
"To the government, I would say: 'Please do consult with business. Please give as much advanced warning as possible, and work with business to be able to implement this in a considered way."
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