INSIDER VIEW: My watch is as important as my whisky

To put it mildly, there is significant concern among watch retailers regarding the upcoming changes to business rate relief in the UK. 

Everyone knows the score by now. During and after the Covid lockdowns that the UK government introduced, it brought in what it considered to be commensurate relief on business rates (the Expanded Retail Discount). As shops, pubs, and gyms were forced to close, this relief was rightly set at 100%.

It was also rightly reduced to 75% for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, as customers and punters returned to a level of normal life. 

But the rapid nature of the next steps of the phasing out of the relief is what has given retailers the willies. A reduction to 40% was set in place for 2025/26 and it will be 0% from April of this year, albeit as part of a permanent change in how rates are calculated, which the government thinks will be fairer, especially for small shops.

It’s been widely reported in the last few days that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will perform something of a U-turn on the way it will set rates for pubs, in the light of considerable pressure and lobbying from industry groups and landlords. But why are establishments selling Guinness more important than those selling Gucci in the eyes of the government? 

Of course, the political optics of stepping in to help struggling pubs, frequented by almost literally the whole voting population, are better than giving the same relief to retailers that are perceived to be catering to the financial elite. 

It’s the same political argument that got us into the mess of removing the VAT rebate for non-EU tourists, resulting (predictably) in those same tourists getting on a train to Paris instead of London to buy their next Patek Philippe.

Of course, it’s only right that the system for how business rates are set is fair (albeit some would argue about the fairness of business rates, full stop), and we can’t live in a lockdown hangover forever. But often we all have to deal with the world as it is, not the world as we want it to be. Whatever your political persuasion, no-one can argue with the reality of the effect of a lot more money going to the government rather than being invested in stock, staff, or store expansions. 

It’s the economy, stupid.

Baker Brothers’ director, Lizzie McAuley, is bracing for the impact that the changes will have on her Bedford store. “As an independent jewellery retailer, changes to business rates relief have a disproportionate impact on our store, as rates are based on property values rather than trading realities,” she told Watch Insider.

“Continued government support for business rates relief is essential to protect local independent retailers and maintain vibrant, diverse high streets.

“For small independent shops, this directly affects decisions around staffing, investment, and long-term presence on the high street, which is why the government needs to understand that, without support for local independents, the viability of high streets will be detrimentally impacted,” she concluded.