Bill quadrupled after pub was revamped

BEFORE the Yummy Pub Company opened The Somers Town Coffee House in 2011, the building had been the location of a failed business and had been stripped of its fixtures and fittings.

Co-owner Anthony Pender, 36, helped refurbish the pub, pictured, installing outside furniture and developing the basement into a dining area, transforming it into a thriving business. But business rates on the site, near Euston station in central London, almost quadrupled in the seven years after the Yummy Pub Company took over the lease, going from £32,000 a year to £126,000.

Mr Pender said the pub, which has 27 staff, is now paying similar business rates to a nearby Marks & Spencer store, even though the shop generates roughly 12 times as much revenue.