Better late than never: How Favouritetable got the Autumn Budget call right

When I shared my views ahead of the Autumn Budget in our original blog, I argued that business rate reform wasn’t just desirable for hospitality, it was inevitable. 

At the time, some saw this as optimistic. Now, while not all details are finalised yet, it’s fair to say: Favouritetable’s prediction got it right.

The Government has confirmed in the Autumn Budget that it will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure from April 2026, delivering on a key industry demand, even if the full detail and wider support are still evolving.

The latest Government commentary suggests that the first targeted phase of additional relief is likely to focus specifically on pubs, with restaurants and the wider hospitality sector continuing to press for broader inclusion as policy detail is finalised.

The BBC’s recent coverage of the confirmed reforms shows that pressure from hospitality, retail and leisure operators has at last translated into action. For restaurants in particular, this matters enormously. 

Business rates have long been a blunt instrument, disconnected from real trading conditions, rising costs and wafer-thin margins. Reform doesn’t solve everything overnight, but it does acknowledge a basic truth the sector has been shouting about for years: The old model was holding businesses back.

A validation of lived reality

Perhaps the most important point here isn’t just that reform is happening, it’s that industry reality has finally been recognised at policy level. 

What we predicted in our original Autumn Budget commentary has now been validated. For operators who have been absorbing higher energy bills, labour costs and food inflation, this is a symbolic but important shift. Better late than never.

At Favouritetable, we take pride in having our finger on the pulse of what restaurants are really experiencing. We don’t analyse the sector from the side-lines, we build software inside it. 

That’s why our views on business rates, licensing and operational pressure tend to align closely with what eventually becomes unavoidable in Westminster.

Licensing flexibility: another key lever

In that original blog, I also pointed to more relaxed licensing laws, including pavement drinking, outdoor seating and flexible use of space, as one of the most immediate ways government could support hospitality without huge fiscal cost. This point remains just as relevant now.

When councils allow restaurants to trade more flexibly, they unlock incremental revenue with minimal extra overhead. In an environment where margins are being squeezed from every direction, these small operational freedoms can make a huge difference. 

They are practical, pro-growth measures that the industry continues to support strongly.

Looking ahead: Pounds into pockets

While policy reform is welcome, the next phase for hospitality is unapologetically commercial. The industry’s priorities are clear:

• Putting pounds into pockets means helping venues drive real and bookable revenue
• Reducing operational costs wherever possible
• Increasing bookings without increasing complexity
• Protecting and improving margins under sustained pressure
• Labour-saving automation, as staffing shortages and employment costs continue to rise

This is exactly where technology has to step up, not as a ‘nice to have’ but as essential infrastructure for restaurants.

The supportive system restaurants need

Favouritetable exists to solve all of these challenges in a transparent and frictionless fashion. We’re proud to view ourselves as the supportive system behind modern hospitality that understands how restaurants actually operate day-to-day.

Our platform is:

• Perfect for start-ups, who need affordable tools that don’t slow them down
• Scalable for expansion, as single sites grow into groups
• Built on the principle: “We scale with you.”

Through practical solutions like FT Lite and FT Pro, we help restaurants manage their bookings more efficiently, reduce admin, improve table utilisation and ultimately generate more revenue from the same footprint – all while remaining better value than other systems on the market.

Alignment, not abstraction

Crucially, we’re 100% aligned with the operating environments of our customers. This alignment is what allows us to deliver a product that genuinely hits the mark. When business rates are too high, if staffing is tight, when every cover counts – those pressures shape how our software is designed.

So when we comment on policy, it’s not theoretical. It’s grounded in thousands of real service days, real booking patterns and real conversations with restaurateurs.

The Autumn Budget reforms may have taken time, but their arrival reinforces something we strongly believe: Listening to how the sector works. 

At Favouritetable, we’ll continue doing exactly that. Anticipating change, advocating for practical solutions, and building technology that helps hospitality not just survive, but grow.