Ryan Reynolds may have sprinkled Hollywood dust on Wrexham, but Wales’s hospitality sector is struggling
“The Welsh government need to realise that what they’re doing is damaging the industry.”
That’s according to Sam Regan, owner and managing director of the Lemon Tree – a hotel and restaurant in Wrexham.
The city has gained international attention in recent years as the home of the football club with the Hollywood star owners.
But despite the high-profile investment of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the hospitality industry here, and across Wales, is struggling amid a series of challenges.
“We’ve been in a little bit of a bubble because of the media attention brought by Wrexham football club. But it’s not the whole answer,” Mr Regan told Sky News.
Sam Regan. Pic: Joe Bickerton
‘Major implications’
Mr Regan, who is also chair of the regional tourism partnership, says international visitors are bringing “much higher spends” to Wrexham than a domestic market, but this may not be the case in the long-term.
The challenges facing the hospitality industry are not exclusive to Wales – they include rising food costs and higher utility bills.
But at an already difficult time for the sector, business rates relief for Welsh retail, hospitality and leisure businesses are being slashed.
In the last financial year, businesses were eligible for 75% off their liability, but this year that’s been reduced to 40%.
“The average business in Wrexham is going to be affected to the tune of about £8,000 by the decision not to give the 75% and keep the 35% back for other purposes in Wales,” Mr Regan added.
Sam Regan. Pic: Joe Bickerton
In England, the relief rate remains at 75%.
There is a concern from some that businesses will look to base themselves in England due to the difference in support.
“Anecdotally, I’ve heard evidence that a gym chain has been looking at Wrexham as an option and also Shrewsbury, which isn’t a million miles away, and they’ve opted for Shrewsbury ultimately because business rates relief is significantly different,” Mr Regan said.
“We’ve got businesses in Wrexham, where you could cross the road, literally cross the road from one café to another…one’s got 40% rate relief from 1 April, and the other’s got 75%.
“That’s got major implications on small businesses.”
‘Pips squeezed out’
The total amount the Welsh government is spending on business rates support for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses will go down this year.
In 2023-24, £140m was invested but this year it will invest only £78m.
Rhys and Charlotte Williams own the 66-bed Dunoon Hotel and two restaurants in Llandudno, Conwy county.
Mr Williams told Sky News the cut in business rates relief means he will have to pay over £20,000 more this year – an increase of around 66%
“£20,000 is a big number when you’re also still dealing with rising costs after the energy hikes last year, and the big uplift in costs across the board,” he said.
Rhys and Charlotte Williams. Pic: Rhys Williams
Mr Williams said it felt like the hospitality sector in Wales was “having the pips squeezed out” of it.
“If I was in England, as a business I’m going to be paying just over £13,500 next year,” he added.
“So suddenly hospitality in Wales is being put on the back foot against its immediate competitor, and life is tough enough already without having that thrown on you.”
He said the business saw a 350% increase in its energy bills last year and it would be a “long old slog” to gradually exit those contracts over the next six to 18 months.
“You get a very real sense, particularly up in the North, that the South is just another country that has its own set of priorities, political and economic or otherwise, from the North. And the North is just stranded,” he added.
Yan White. Pic: Cowshed
‘Hard to continue’
Yan White is director of The Queer Emporium in central Cardiff.
He told Sky News he had recently been looking at the possibility of setting up a branch in Bristol.
“We know that if we go to Bristol and do a pop-up, we’re likely to make more money and even though we’re a non-profit, that is still something we have to think about,” he said.
“We’ve looked at opening a second store somewhere like Bristol potentially. But a big part of that reason is because we kind of would need it to keep us buoyant.”
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He said the Welsh government was “cranking up the handles” by cutting support and was making it “incredibly hard to continue operating”.
“It’s going to cost us a few extra thousand a year, which on our turnover as a non-profit, that is quite significant. That’s not a small amount,” he added.
“I do worry that what we’re basically seeing is a huge bubble that’s about to burst.”
‘Doing all we can’
A Welsh government spokesperson said they were aware of “the ongoing cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crises”.
“We are doing all we can, with the resources and powers available to us, to provide support in these difficult times..
“We provide a range of permanent non-domestic rates reliefs, worth £250m annually and fully funded by the Welsh government.
“This includes small business rates relief, which supports ratepayers for around 70,000 properties across Wales, of which over 50,000 receive full relief.
“We are also providing a fifth successive year of support for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with their rates bills, at a cost of £78m.
“This builds on the almost £1bn of support provided in rates relief schemes to these sectors since 2020-21.”
The Welsh Conservatives say pubs and restaurants in the country are facing “real hardship” and have committed to maintaining business rates relief “so businesses can be properly supported”.
Plaid Cymru say the reduction in business rates relief was a “perfect storm” when coupled with other pressures and that the existing business rates system “simply does not work”.
Storm Bram has been named by the Irish weather service – with warnings for strong winds and heavy rain issued for parts of the UK and Ireland.
More than half a month’s rainfall could hit some parts of the UK in just a 24-hour period, the Met Office has warned.
Yellow and orange warnings are in place across Ireland today and tomorrow, with “very strong to gale force” winds forecast on Tuesday.
Check the weather forecast where you are
The Met Office said strong winds forecast from Monday evening through until Wednesday could cause disruption, with gusts of 50-60mph predicted widely and 70-80mph in some places.
A yellow weather warning for rain comes into effect from 6pm on Monday, and will be in place for 24 hours, covering parts of southwest England and Wales, and stretching to parts of Herefordshire and Hampshire.
The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for high winds from Dorset to Cornwall and up to north Wales, in place from 10pm on Monday until 4pm on Tuesday.
It said transport networks could face disruption, with delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges, and coastal roads and seafronts affected by spray and large waves. Power outages are also possible.
For 24 hours from 6pm on Monday, up to 40mm of rain could fall in some areas, with 60-80mm of rain over Dartmoor and high ground in South Wales, which would amount to more than half the average monthly rainfall in December.
The predicted rainfall across southwest England and South Wales is expected to hit already saturated ground and could lead to difficult travel conditions.
An amber warning for wind has been issued for northwest Scotland on Tuesday.
Flying debris “could result in a danger to life” – and there could be damage to buildings and homes along with the risk of roofs being “blown off” due to the “very strong and disruptive winds”, the Met Office warned.
Forecasters added there was the potential for large waves and beach material “being thrown” across sea fronts, roads and properties.
There are also yellow warnings for wind and rain on Tuesday across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern and southwest England.
Weather warnings issued for Tuesday. Pic: Met Office
Yellow warnings for wind have been issued for Scotland and parts of northern England on Wednesday.
The Met Office’s deputy chief meteorologist, Steven Keates, said: “A deepening area of low pressure will approach the UK from the southwest later on Monday, bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds, which are likely to affect the UK between late Monday and early Wednesday.
“The exact track, depth and timings of this low are uncertain, which makes it harder to determine where will be most impacted by strong winds and/or heavy rain.
“This system has the potential to cause disruption, and severe weather warnings are likely to be issued over the weekend as details become clearer. We therefore urge people to keep up-to-date with the latest Met Office forecast.”
The Met Office said the rest of the month remained unsettled, with further periods of low pressure predicted.
It also said it is too early to provide an accurate forecast for the Christmas period.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Downing Street once again, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be keen to make this meeting more than just a photo op.
On Monday the prime minister will welcome not only the Ukrainian president, but also E3 allies France and Germany to discuss the state of the war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join Sir Keir in showing solidarity and support for Ukraine and its leader, but it’s the update on the peace negotiations that will be the main focus of the meet up.
The four leaders are said to be set to not only discuss those talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia, but also to talk about next steps if a deal were to be reached and what that might look like.
Ahead of the discussions, Sir Keir spoke with the Dutch leader Dick Schoof where both leaders agreed Ukraine’s defence still needs international support, and that Ukraine’s security is vital to European security.
But while Russia’s war machine shows no signs of abating, a warm welcome and kind words won’t be enough to satisfy the embattled Ukrainian president at a time when Russian drone and missile attacks continue to bombard Kyiv.
Keir Starmer welcoming Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Downing Street during a previous visit. Pic: AP
What is the latest in negotiations?
Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed “next steps” with US President Donald Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.
“The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “The conversation was constructive, although not easy.”
But on Sunday evening, ahead of an event at the Kennedy Center, President Trump said he was “disappointed” with Mr Zelenskyy, as was asked about the next steps in Russia-Ukraine talks following negotiations.
He said: “We’ve been speaking to President Putin and we’ve been speaking to Ukrainian leaders, including Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy.
“And I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago.
“His people love it. But he hasn’t – Russia’s fine with it. Russia’s you know, Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it. But Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it. His people love it but he hasn’t read it.”
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On Saturday, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy, had told the Reagan National Defence Forum that efforts to resolve the conflict were in “the last 10 metres”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised new US security strategy over the weekend, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to “further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement”.
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