UK retailers may be exempt from the higher business rates that are set to be announced in the upcoming Autumn Budget after warnings from industry executives.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is in discussions to remove supermarkets from the higher rates following meetings with retail executives on the matter, according to The Financial Times.

The proposal would see larger properties with a value over £500,000 pay higher business rates, which could put up to 400 supermarkets at risk of closure.

Over the past months, industry executives have warned that the increased expenses will lead to a slowdown in hiring and less expansion of stores.

However, the Government has stressed that the higher taxes are not targeted towards retailers, but towards online retailers’ warehouses.

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The new rates are set to come into effect in April 2026, and a final decision has not been officially announced by the Government.

The news comes after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) wrote a letter to the Chancellor with over 40 major executives backing the statement to urge the Government to consider the financial burden of the additional taxes.

Helen Dickinson, BRC CEO, said at the time: “The Chancellor can back families, jobs and high streets this Autumn, by excluding large shops from the new higher business rates tax band.

“This would not cost the Exchequer a penny yet would help secure the future of 400 retail stores and the communities they support right across the country. But failure to act risks shuttering hundreds more stores, costing jobs, communities and the economy far more in the long run.”