In In 2024 we took the hard decision to cease trading and to stop all of our operations (hotel, restaurant, café and sculpture gardens). Let’s say that 50% or our decision to close was based on systemic economic factors that applied to everyone in hospitality general, and 50% were situational factors specific to us in particular.

The post-Covid ‘staycation’ bounce for the hospitality sector proved to be just a fleeting blip once the world started to absorb the macro-economic changes from Russia’s Feb 2022 invasion of Ukraine. These unsettling fallout from this ‘military operation’ culminated in the UK’s autumnal ‘mini-budget’ disaster, when an elected official was demonstrably less effective and relevant than a bit of fresh produce.

With what became more broadly known as the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’, hospitality as a sector was especially caught in the whipsaw, as inflation in October, 2022 hit a 40-year high. A very tough trading environment emerged overnight, doubly so for hospitality. Our Electric rates, business rates and cost of borrowing all tripled, while all our suppliers across the board understandably needed to increase their pricing – on everything from eggs to laundry. At the same time, the cost of living challenges hit the wallet hard and the average Joe Blogs had less disposable income for discretionary items like art appreciation.

 We appreciated when our plight was used by MP Selaine Saxby as an example in parliament, coupled with a request to reduce VAT in the sector to 12.5%. Ms. Saxby noted:

Last year, we lost 3,000 hospitality venues in the UK, and I am concerned that if the Government do not take further action to share the burden of this tax cost, we may lose even more this year.

Unfortunately, there is one recent case in my North Devon constituency; Broomhill Estate is closing due to VAT costs. I thank Alex Kleiner for all his work and for letting me know how much of an impact a reduction in VAT from 20% to 15% would have made to his business. I heard directly from Alex, a business owner, that there would have been three benefits: a reduction in absolute VAT; an impact on cashflow; and an uplift in footfall because of more attractive pricing, although that is harder to quantify.

He said in “4 out of the past seven quarters a 5% VAT reduction would have completely offset my electricity bill.”

That is correct and I’m appreciative of Ms. Saxby conveying our case. A nominal 5% reduction would have completely offset our electric costs more often than not. Many EU countries already treat hospitality as a sector requiring VAT relief.

We still have expenses related to winding down the gardens, including de-installing the remaining sculpture. Please consider making a donation or purchasing art – all proceeds will go towards Broomhill’s mission of supporting art and nature within the UK.