The Tax Squeeze Crushing UK Hospitality and How ZPos Can Help

Did you know that UK Hospitality businesses typically pay 82p in business taxes for every £1 of profit?

Restaurants and takeaways are under serious financial pressure in 2026; new research from the British Retail Consortium and UKHospitality found that hospitality businesses paid the equivalent of 82p in business taxes for every £1 of pre-tax profit during 2025/26. That's the highest tax burden of all the 11 major UK business sectors included in the research!

The average was 50p for every £1 of pre-tax profit with retail at 72p and banking at 40.5p. Together, Hospitality and retail paid a whopping £62 billion in business taxes during 2025/26. These taxes include VAT, business rates, employer National Insurance and other business taxes.

Hospitality costs are too high!

Tax is only one part of the story. Hospitality businesses like restaurants, takeaways and pubs need to pay for staff, food, energy, rent, insurance and more.

It's no surprise that a UKHospitality survey published in July 2026 found that 23% of hospitality businesses surveyed were operating at a lost and another 16% believed their business could fail within the next 12 months.

At ZPos, we've always understood how important it is for the businesses we support to protect their hard-earned profit, with slimmer margins this has become more important than ever.

What can you do?

As a business owner with a restaurant or takeaway, you understand that you cannot control every cost. Tax rates, food prices, energy costs and employment costs are being your power to control.

So, what can you do you? Take control of the cost of taking customer orders!

The big ordering portals like Just Eat, Deliveroo & Uber Eats may help businesses generate sales but every portal order typically comes with commission charges.

Just Eat currently states that it charges UK restaurant partners no less than 14% commission (when the restaurant provides its own delivery) plus VAT. A £20 order creates a commission charge of £3.36 including VAT. We think this is too much and for busy businesses it soon adds up to hundreds of pounds and a major cost.

At ZPos, we give restaurants and takeaways a cheaper way to take orders, via their own bespoke branded website. We'll also help you with strategic support and cheap tools to move more customers to order direct so you keep more money from each sale to improve profitability.

Portals can be a powerful stepping stone but don't rely on them

Huge marketing budgets fuelled by high commission allow big names like Just Eat to advertise, this can certainly help restaurants reach customers when new or without a strong customer base of regulars. The end goal for any successful hospitality business however should always be to reduce this dependence, generate your own orders directly.

Remember, every order placed through a portal means a big part of that sale goes to another company.You also have less control over the customer relationship and your customer data which makes marketing difficult.

Customers should order from you instead, not from a portal. They should know your brand and visit your website to order. Then your business can then build its own customer database and use tools such as SMS, email, loyalty points and targeted offers to encourage customers to order again. This is a better strategy than paying a platform to access your own customers. Build your own audience to communicate with directly. Treat a portal as a tool to build your customer base only.

Ownership is key

If you have an established takeaway or restaurant with loyal customers; move away from the portals to reduce commission costs, improve margins take back control.

in 2026, profit matters more than ever

The latest tax figures show what you already know, hospitality businesses are being battered with high costs. Facing one of the heaviest business tax burdens in the UK!

Whilst you have limited control over taxes, wages, energy or food prices, businesses can still make important decisions to save profit.

Focus on where your orders come from and how much you pay to receive them. 

For ZPos clients, increasing direct orders through their own branded website reduces commission costs compared with major ordering portals. The more customers a business can move to direct ordering, the more control it gains over its costs, marketing and customer relationships too. With hospitality businesses paying the equivalent of 82p in business taxes for every £1 of pre-tax profit, keeping more money from every order is vital.

Sources

British Retail Consortium, 30 September 2026
Research produced with UKHospitality found that hospitality paid the equivalent of 82p in business taxes for every £1 of pre tax profit in 2025/26. Hospitality and retail paid a combined £62 billion in business taxes.
https://brc.org.uk/news-and-events/news/corporate-affairs/2026/ungated/high-streets-punishing-tax-burden-is-highest-in-uk-economy-costing-jobs-and-pushing-up-prices/ 

HM Revenue & Customs, 2026/27
Official Government guidance confirms the standard employer National Insurance rate is 15% for 2026/27.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions 

HM Treasury, 2026/27
Government guidance confirms the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates multipliers in England.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier 

UKHospitality, July 2026
Industry research found that 23% of surveyed hospitality businesses were operating at a loss and 16% believed they were at risk of failure within the following 12 months.
https://www.ukhospitality.org.uk/one-in-six-venues-risk-closure-as-sector-unites-behind-vat-cut/ 

Just Eat UK
Just Eat's restaurant partner information states a 14% commission where restaurants provide their own delivery. Its £20 order example shows a £3.36 commission charge including VAT.
https://www.just-eat.co.uk/partner/signup/