Soapbox: Taxing times for drinks
Published: 06 January, 2026
Paragon Brands’ Chris Jones on the reality of schemes such as EPR and DRS for challenger brands and consumers.
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Jerry Lockspeiser: Have we lost the connection between price and value?
Published: 18 December, 2025
If you are as old as I am, or you have parents who regale you with tales of their youth, you will be familiar with the time when retailers aimed to keep prices stable throughout the year – except for the annual sales in January. We looked forward to these as a special event. With genuine bargains to be had there was a feeling of excitement and the chance to get true value.
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UK drinks industry despondent after Budget duty hike
Published: 26 November, 2025
In an entirely predictable move, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed that alcohol duty will rise with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) in 2026, provoking near-universal concern across the drinks trade.
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HMRC ‘sin taxes’ revenues down by 35% over last decade
Published: 17 November, 2025
HMRC take from the so-called ‘sin taxes’, comprising alcohol, tobacco and gambling, have continued on a downward trajectory, having fallen 35% in the last decade, according to research by leading accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.
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November Budget: UKH demands action as hospitality job losses mount
Published: 12 November, 2025
Trade body UKHospitality (UKH) has urged the government to take action at the upcoming Budget to protect jobs and restore confidence in the hospitality sector.
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Leading hospitality businesses demand action at upcoming Budget
Published: 10 November, 2025
Trade body UKHospitality has called for action ahead of the upcoming Budget in an open letter backed by 345 hospitality businesses.
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SWA research suggests alcohol duties are damaging the public purse
Published: 28 October, 2025
New research from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has found that in the year to August 2025 alcoholic beverages contributed £3 in every £100 of inflation rises.
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Uncorking the facts on the bottle weight debate
Published: 15 October, 2025
At 1.2kg, the bottle on the table was heavy enough for it to be hard to tell how much wine was in it. But as chief winemaker Ana María Cumsille explained, the biggest market for Viña Carmen Gold, the Chilean producer’s top cuvée, was China, and consumers there “associate weight with quality”. A few weeks later I related this story to a manager at Ardagh glass in Barnsley as I toured their bottle factory. He joked: “We could get three out of one of those!” – and indeed the bottles coming off the production line in front of us weighed just 400g or less.
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WSTA: Alcohol duty revenue in decline despite February tax increase
Published: 24 September, 2025
Fresh figures from HMRC’s latest alcohol duty receipts (published 19 September) show that revenue is down -4.3%. This will frustrate many in the drinks industry who faced a February hike of wine and spirits duty.
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UKH encourages hospitality teams to write to their MP
Published: 22 September, 2025
UKHospitality (UKH) has launched a new online tool for hospitality teams to call on the Government to support the sector by writing to their MP.
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UKHospitality announces job losses set to reach 111,000 by Budget
Published: 16 September, 2025
UKHospitality has projected that a total of 111,000 hospitality jobs will have been lost by the Budget on 26 November.
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Jerry Lockspeiser: What is the point of a business?
Published: 11 September, 2025
What is the point of a business? Who is it for? The people who started it, those working in it, the investors, the customers? The answer is all of those and more, but the core responsibility for defining the point (and it is quite a responsibility) lies with the owners and senior managers.
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UKHospitality joins scotch whisky industry’s call for a duty freeze
Published: 11 September, 2025
UKHospitality, the trade body for hospitality which represents over 750 companies in the UK, has backed the Scotch Whisky Association’s (SWA) call for the UK Government to freeze alcohol duty in the Autumn Budget.
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Wine & Sprit Trade Association publishes industry guide
Published: 18 July, 2025
The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has published a ‘go-to guide’ for the industry, aimed at helping policy makers and politicians “better understand” the UK wine and spirit market.
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UK Hospitality warns sector faces being taxed out
Published: 07 July, 2025
UK Hospitality has warned the Prime Minister that hospitality is in danger of being taxed out, with the sector having lost 69,000 jobs since the Budget.
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Scotch: 75% of producers deferring investment due to high duty
Published: 04 July, 2025
A new survey from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) can reveal that three out of four whisky companies expect to defer investment (or invest outside of the UK) due to the high tax burden upon them.
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Industry bemoans 'April fool’s joke' as EPR introduced
Published: 01 April, 2025
Figures from across the drinks trade have reacted to the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation which came into effect today (1 April). The new policy which was intended to introduce a “polluters pay principle” regarding packaging waste has faced significant backlash from the drinks industry due to a series of perceived flaws.
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‘Missed opportunity’ for businesses via Spring Statement
Published: 27 March, 2025
The trade has expressed its disappointment that no relief for businesses will be forthcoming via Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement, as the industry continues to face a roster of tax hikes from the last Autumn Budget.
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Autumn Budget to cost Wetherspoon £60m
Published: 07 March, 2025
The first Labour-backed Budget of the new government is expected to have a significant impact on the balance sheet of popular pub group J D Wetherspoon, just as the company was on track to return to steady growth.
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New HMRC digital service for managing duty payments goes live
Published: 03 March, 2025
The new digital service from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ‘Manage your Alcohol Duty’, which went live on 1 March, is purported to allow for easier reporting and online payment services regarding alcohol duty.
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