BrewDog chief’s £1bn warning to Reeves over tax increases

BrewDog claims it will need to sell a million pints to offset Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes

- JON ROBINSON

THE hospitality sector needs to sell almost one million extra pints every hour in order to cope with a £1bn cost surge thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes, the chief executive of BrewDog has warned.

James Taylor, who took on the job earlier this year, said Reeves needs to take “meaningful action” because of the rise in energy bills, labour costs and the Chancellor's tax hikes.

The Scotland-based company wants to see reforms to business rates, relief on beer duty in next week’s Budget as well as “a review of the cumulative cost burden that is threatening the viability of UK pubs and breweries’.