The chief executive of Frasers Group has described the business rates regime as “a disaster”.
Michael Murray has urged the government to step in with a transformation as quickly as possible.
Murray, Mike Ashley’s son-in-law, who stepped into the role last May, said: “It makes it almost unviable. You’re almost paying rent twice.”
Murray told the Gentleman’s Journal podcast that the current rates regime was “built for retail with no online”, adding: “It needs reforming but the government hasn’t reformed at anything like the pace it needs to. It’s so outdated. It needs to be reformed to encourage retail investment. I know they have to balance the books as well, they could do it a lot faster.”
