Michelangelo’s

02/06/2026

The UK hospitality industry is facing more pressure than ever.

Not only do restaurants, cafés, pubs and takeaways pay one of the highest VAT rates on cooked food in Europe at 20%, but businesses are also dealing with rising National Insurance contributions, increasing wage costs, and the ongoing additional charges of stupid things like the Business Improvement District (BID) levies we have to fork out for.

Meanwhile, many of our European neighbours support hospitality with reduced VAT rates:🇩🇪 Germany – 7%🇫🇷 France – 10%🇪🇸 Spain – 10%🇮🇹 Italy – 10%🇮🇪 Ireland – 9%

Hospitality is one of the UK's largest employers and a vital part of every local community. Yet many independent businesses are being asked to carry more and more costs while trying to keep prices affordable for customers.

Something has to change if we want our high streets, town centres and local hospitality businesses to thrive.

The hospitality sector has come together to launch – a united campaign and petition calling for hospitality VAT to be reduced from 20% to 10%.

Spearheaded by chef and publican Tom Kerridge, we’re working alongside trade bodies across the sector, such as and , hospitality communities like , and you, businesses across hospitality, to say 10% VAT is fair for hospitality.

Our sector pays too much tax, and VAT is the single biggest lever the Government can pull to support venues, our customers, our high streets and our local communities.

This campaign is for everyone: businesses, customers, waiting staff, chefs, kitchen porters, bar staff, hotel teams, farmers, brewers, suppliers and producers.

Like, sign the petition and share this post – we need your support to reach a million signatures.

Click the link in our bio to sign the petition 👇
https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/

02/06/2026

30/05/2026

09/04/2026

So, we’ve now seen the proposed job description for this BID role — and frankly, it’s staggering.

A salary of £70,000–£80,000 per year, funded by levy-paying local businesses, many of whom are already struggling. How is this justified? Where is the return for the people actually paying for it?

This isn’t support — it’s a drain on businesses that are being asked to fund it.

And it gets worse. Instead of handling recruitment internally, they’ve appointed Locus from Ipswich to manage the process. That’s even more levy money being spent — money that should be going back into supporting local businesses, not external consultants.

So it raises a very simple question: what exactly is the Board of Directors doing? Shouldn’t they be capable of recruiting for a role like this themselves? Or do they lack the business experience to carry out even that basic responsibility?

At a time when businesses need meaningful, practical support, this feels completely out of touch. Levy payers deserve transparency, accountability, and real value — not inflated salaries and unnecessary consultancy costs.

This isn’t what we signed up for.

https://locusms.com/carlisle
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ff5d30d7a796c242548aaf5/t/69d4e56c233e942190673ff7/1775560044450/Carlisle+BID+CEO+Job+Description.pdf

Cumberland Council
ITV Border
Julie Minns MP

07/04/2026

This offer is still available until Thursday 9th of April.

For bookings call 01228 525117 or message the page.

25/03/2026

We’re filling up for the weekend book now to avoid disappointment. For bookings call 01228 525117 or message the page.

Tables available for tonight from 5pm.

10/02/2026

We have only 5pm available Friday evening now and still fully booked for Valentine’s.

❤️🍷 Love is in the air… and our tables are full! 🍷❤️
We’re officially fully booked for Valentine’s Day!
Thank you for the incredible support — it means the world to us.
Keep an eye out for future dates (and excuses) to dine with us 😉

03/02/2026

Back open from 5pm today.

Message the page for bookings or call 01228 525117