Hair, beauty and nail businesses are a cornerstone of the British high street, consistently accounting for the top three retail categories on our high streets (according to the Local Data Company) and generating essential footfall for other businesses. “As a sector of 266,000 workers, the majority of whom are women and small business owners, hair and beauty salons provide equal social value to hospitality and must be granted the same level of protection as the pubs,” says Millie Kendall, CEO of the British Beauty Council, who wrote to Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer. “On behalf of the industry, I raised concerns about the significant impact of the recent changes to business rates for hair and beauty salons up and down the country, following our contribution to the consultation. I urged an immediate extension of the protection being shown to the hospitality sector. This is vital to protect the thousands of hair and beauty SMEs that keep our high streets vibrant.”

Particularly when these businesses face similar economic headwinds as hospitality. While many salons report consistent client numbers, they highlight a concerning and significant squeeze in profits, due to the cumulative impact of wage and national insurance increases, higher costs for energy, utilities and goods, and most recently, a significant increase in business rates. All resulting in job losses across the sector, which we predicted in previous Council’s Value Of Beauty reports.

For several years, the 75% Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure relief was the primary lifeline allowing salons to remain solvent amid soaring energy costs and inflation. The reduction of this relief to 40% in 2025, and its subsequent expiration and revaluation has left many small and micro-businesses facing a devastating spike in fixed costs, with many feeling their businesses are no longer sustainable.

“So while we welcome the government’s announcement of 150 million funding for the high street, we ask for urgent clarity and support for the hair and beauty sector specifically,” says Kendall.

Want to have your say on business rate relief?

Don’t miss the deadline – the government Call for Evidence survey on reforming business rates ends on February 18th.

The Call for Evidence seeks views from businesses, property owners and local authorities on how business rates influence investment decisions to inform future reforms. Key areas that are being assessed include changes to business rate calculation, Small Business Rates Relief, Improvement Relief and Empty Property Relief. Alongside the impact of receipts and expenditure valuation on investment.