Thai boss blames Reeves for Cambridge restaurant closure 2026

Key Points

• The managing director of Thai Leisure Group, which operates the Thaikhun and Chaophraya brands, has blamed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves for the closure of the group’s Thaikhun restaurant in Cambridge, leading to 14 redundancies.
• Ian Leigh, managing director of Thai Leisure Group, said the business could no longer absorb the cumulative impact of rising employment, energy, food and business rate costs under the current Labour Government.
• In a video address from the Cambridge site, Mr Leigh said: “As a direct result of your policies, we’re having to shut our wonderful restaurant here in Cambridge,” calling the Government’s approach “a dagger to our heart”.
• Mr Leigh claimed employer National Insurance costs for the group had risen from around 7 per cent to approximately 11 per cent of gross wages, equating to about £500,000 a year in additional costs.
• He said the latest rise in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage had added about £350,000 to annual labour costs, taking total labour cost increases to roughly £850,000 year-on-year.
• As reported by Joe Sledge of GB News, Mr Leigh argued that lowering the National Insurance threshold had targeted “young people, part-time workers and a sector on its knees” rather than those “with the broadest shoulders”.
• In coverage by Restaurant magazine, Mr Leigh said the decision to close Cambridge was driven by Government policy and described the Autumn 2024 Budget as having delivered a “double hit” of higher employment and wage costs.
• Thai Leisure Group has reduced total employee numbers by about 12 per cent since last year, which Mr Leigh said meant fewer entry-level and part-time roles for younger workers trying to enter the jobs market.
• The closure of the Cambridge Thaikhun site reduces the more casual Thaikhun brand to nine locations, alongside six sites for the group’s more premium Chaophraya chain, according to Restaurant magazine.
• Founded in Leeds in 2004, Thai Leisure Group now operates between 16 and 21 restaurants across the UK, employing more than 600 people and generating an annual turnover of around £32.5 million.
• Mr Leigh said certain sites had become “financially unviable” under current trading conditions, and that shutting Cambridge was a difficult but necessary decision to protect the wider business.
• He added that the group had scaled back recruitment and investment, warning that the trading environment was “extremely difficult” due to sustained increases in labour, food and energy costs alongside weakening consumer confidence.
• Mr Leigh criticised the Government for reducing support and increasing business rates, saying the latest rateable value calculations were out of step with current trading conditions.
• He argued that recent support packages had excluded restaurants, noting that while pubs and live music venues had received targeted business rates relief, restaurants were left out.
• Mr Leigh urged the Government to cut VAT for hospitality, saying the UK’s 20 per cent rate leaves operators at a disadvantage compared with European countries such as France, Germany and Ireland, where hospitality VAT rates are around 10 per cent or lower.
• He said a VAT cut would improve cash flow, allow reinvestment, support employment, and help operators keep prices accessible to customers while encouraging new site openings.
• His intervention comes amid wider anger in the hospitality sector at comments from the Chancellor’s entrepreneurship adviser Alex Depledge, who said Britain “does not need any more restaurants”.
• As reported by Yahoo News and business media, Ms Depledge argued Government focus should be on “growth” sectors such as technology, clean tech and advanced manufacturing, remarks that drew criticism from leading chefs and operators including Michel Roux Jr and Sacha Lord.
• Industry bodies and business leaders have warned that restaurants and pubs are under acute pressure from higher National Insurance, higher National Living Wage, rising business rates and the return of VAT to 20 per cent after pandemic-era relief.
• Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge has separately urged Ms Reeves to cut hospitality VAT from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, saying this would make a “big, big difference” to pubs and the wider sector.
• Campaigners point out that restaurants and pubs have already seen a significant reduction in sites since 2020, with some estimates suggesting casual dining capacity is down more than a fifth.
• Mr Leigh concluded his statement with a plea to ministers: “We’re on our knees here, I’m on my knees. Please listen.”

Cambridge (Britain Today News) March 18, 2026 – Cambridge Thai Leisure Group restaurant boss blames Reeves policies for closure and 14 job losses.

The managing director of one of the UK’s largest Thai restaurant operators has publicly accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves of pushing his business to shut its Thaikhun site in Cambridge, saying Labour’s economic policies have turned a previously viable restaurant into a financial liability and cost 14 people their jobs.

Why is the Cambridge Thaikhun restaurant closing?

As reported by Joe Sledge of GB News, Ian Leigh, managing director of Thai Leisure Group (TLG), said in a video recorded at the Cambridge restaurant that the company

“could no longer absorb the cumulative impact of rising costs”

under the current Government. He told the channel:

“As a direct result of your policies, we’re having to shut our wonderful restaurant here in Cambridge,”

describing Labour’s approach as “a dagger to our heart”.

In a statement carried by industry title Restaurant, Mr Leigh reiterated that the closure was “a direct result of Government policies”, arguing that his business had already weathered

“soaring utility bills, rising food costs and wafer-thin margins”

before the latest changes came into force. He said that subsequent increases in employer National Insurance and minimum wage levels tipped certain locations, including Cambridge, into loss-making territory and left the company with no realistic alternative but to close.

Mr Leigh explained that, taken together, recent policy decisions had created

“a situation where certain sites became financially unviable”,

making it harder to cover fixed overheads even in well‑established venues.

“Cambridge was one of those locations,”

he said, adding that while the decision was “very difficult”, it was taken to

“ensure the long-term health of the wider business”.

How much have labour and tax costs risen according to Thai Leisure Group?

In his interview with GB News, Mr Leigh said Thai Leisure Group’s employer National Insurance contributions had risen from an average of about 7 per cent of gross wages to around 11 per cent, an increase he estimated at roughly £500,000 per year. He argued that these additional costs, alongside other tax and regulatory changes, had a direct impact on staffing decisions and site viability across the group.

Mr Leigh added that the most recent increase in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage had added a further £350,000 to the company’s cost base, taking total labour cost increases to around £850,000 year-on-year. As reported by Restaurant, he linked these pressures to the Chancellor’s Autumn 2024 Budget, which he and other operators in the sector have described as delivering a “double hit” of higher wage and employment costs at a time when margins were already under severe pressure.

According to Mr Leigh, these changes have forced Thai Leisure Group to reassess headcount across its estate, leading to a 12 per cent reduction in total employee numbers over the past year.

“Unfortunately, that can mean fewer entry-level and part-time opportunities, which are often the roles that younger people rely on to enter the workforce,”

he told GB News, warning that the impact of the policy mix would be felt most sharply by

“young people, part-time people and a sector on its knees”.

How does Thai Leisure Group describe the wider trading environment?

In his remarks to GB News and in the statement reported by Restaurant, Mr Leigh painted a picture of an “extremely difficult” trading environment for hospitality operators. He said businesses like his were having to cope with sustained increases in labour, food and energy costs at the same time as consumer confidence remains fragile, putting pressure on both revenues and margins.

“Support has reduced, business rates have increased, and the latest rateable value calculations feel out of step with current trading conditions,”

Mr Leigh said, arguing that the current system did not reflect the reality facing restaurants after years of disruption and cost escalation. He suggested that the removal of some forms of Government support, combined with higher fixed costs, had left many sites exposed, particularly in high‑rent city-centre locations such as Cambridge.

Mr Leigh also said that Thai Leisure Group had scaled back recruitment and investment, focusing instead on safeguarding the core of the business. He warned that if the current trajectory continued, more restaurants could be at risk, saying that the sector felt “on its knees” and that policymakers needed to “please listen” to the concerns being raised.

What is Thai Leisure Group and which brands are affected?

According to GB News and Restaurant, Thai Leisure Group is one of the UK’s largest Thai restaurant operators, founded in Leeds in 2004 by Khun Kim Kaewkraikhot and Martin Stead. The company runs a portfolio of Thai dining brands across the country, combining more premium venues with casual, street‑food style concepts.

Restaurant magazine reports that the closure of the Cambridge restaurant affects the group’s Thaikhun brand, a more casual spin‑off from its Chaophraya chain that focuses on Thai street food and informal dining. The shuttering of the Cambridge site reduces Thaikhun to nine locations nationwide, while Chaophraya continues to operate from six sites.

Across all its brands, Thai Leisure Group operates between 16 and 21 restaurants in the UK, employs more than 600 people and generates an annual turnover of around £32.5 million, according to figures cited by GB News. Mr Leigh said that preserving the health of the overall estate was a key factor behind the decision to withdraw from Cambridge, even though he stressed that the venue was “wonderful” and that closing it had been a painful move.

How did Ian Leigh criticise Government policy on National Insurance and wages?

As reported by Joe Sledge of GB News, Mr Leigh directly linked the closure of the Cambridge site to specific Government decisions on tax and labour policy, addressing his comments to Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves. He said that by lowering the National Insurance threshold, ministers had not gone after those with “the broadest shoulders” but had instead targeted

“young people, part-time workers and a sector already on its knees”,

describing this as going for “the easy target”.

In the Restaurant article, Mr Leigh said his company had

“survived all sorts – soaring utility bills, rising food costs and wafer-thin margins”

before the recent policy changes took effect. He accused the Government of pushing hospitality businesses beyond breaking point with additional costs, arguing that the combination of National Insurance changes and wage increases amounted to a “dagger to our heart”.

Mr Leigh’s comments echo a broader backlash from hospitality businesses to the Autumn 2024 Budget, which industry groups say has increased employment costs while offering little targeted support. Operators have highlighted the challenge of absorbing higher labour bills when customers are also facing a cost-of-living squeeze, limiting the scope for price rises without damaging demand.

What does Thai Leisure Group want the Government to do on VAT and business rates?

Both GB News and Restaurant report that Mr Leigh has urged the Government to reduce VAT for the hospitality sector from its current rate of 20 per cent. He argued that UK operators were at a disadvantage compared with European competitors, pointing to countries such as France, Germany and Ireland where hospitality VAT rates are often 10 per cent or lower.

“A VAT reduction would make a meaningful difference,”

Mr Leigh said in comments reported by GB News.

“It would allow us to reinvest back into our businesses, support employment, and help us keep pricing as accessible as possible for customers,”

he added, saying that a cut would improve cash flow and give operators more confidence to invest in new sites rather than scaling back.

On business rates, Mr Leigh criticised recent revaluations and increases, saying that the latest rateable value calculations

“feel out of step with current trading conditions”.

He also suggested that restaurants had been overlooked in recent support packages, noting that while pubs and live music venues had benefited from targeted business rates relief, restaurants had been excluded and

“not always fully included in the conversation”.

How does this row relate to comments that Britain ‘does not need any more restaurants’?

The closure of the Cambridge Thaikhun restaurant comes against a backdrop of anger in the hospitality sector over remarks made by the Chancellor’s entrepreneurship adviser, Alex Depledge. As reported by Yahoo News and business media, Ms Depledge told Insider Media that Britain does not “need any more restaurants”, arguing that Government efforts should instead focus on sectors such as technology and advanced manufacturing.

Her comments sparked criticism from prominent figures including chef Michel Roux Jr and Greater Manchester night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord, who warned that dismissing hospitality in this way risked undermining a sector that is a major employer and contributor to local economies. Business opinion pieces have also highlighted data suggesting the UK has already lost around 22 per cent of its casual dining sites since 2020, arguing that the issue is one of survival rather than over‑supply.

Industry campaigners say Ms Depledge’s remarks, combined with rising costs and perceived gaps in Government support, have reinforced a sense that restaurants and pubs are being sidelined in policy discussions. Mr Leigh’s intervention, in which he accuses ministers of targeting a “sector on its knees”, fits into this wider narrative of frustration as operators warn that without changes to tax and business rate policy, further closures and job losses are likely.

How does the hospitality sector more broadly view the Government’s tax approach?

Mr Leigh’s criticisms align with calls from other high-profile hospitality figures for a rethink of the Government’s tax approach to the sector. In January, Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge told The Telegraph that cutting VAT on hospitality from 20 per cent to 10 per cent would make a “big, big difference” to pubs and restaurants struggling with higher business rates, employer National Insurance and wage bills.

The Telegraph has reported that the end of Covid-era business rates relief, combined with revaluation of properties, is expected to increase the average pub’s rates bill by around 15 per cent next year, with some facing significantly higher rises. UKHospitality, the industry body, has warned that these increases come on top of the restoration of VAT to 20 per cent after a temporary reduction to 5 per cent during the pandemic intended to support recovery.

Campaigners such as the Campaign for Pubs have called for emergency VAT cuts and more targeted support, arguing that without further intervention, many venues could close or reduce opening hours. Mr Leigh’s demand for a VAT cut, coupled with his warnings about reduced hiring and site closures, underlines the sector’s message that the current tax burden is unsustainable for many operators.

What happens next for staff and the wider business?

Thai Leisure Group has confirmed that 14 staff roles are being lost as a result of the Cambridge closure, with the company working through consultation and redundancy processes. Mr Leigh said the group had already reduced its total employee numbers by 12 per cent since last year due to cost pressures, limiting its ability to redeploy staff into other roles.

While the Cambridge site is closing, the company plans to continue operating its remaining Thaikhun and Chaophraya restaurants across the UK. Mr Leigh suggested that further investment and expansion would depend on changes to Government policy, particularly around VAT and business rates, and on an improvement in overall trading conditions.

In his closing appeal, Mr Leigh addressed ministers directly, saying:

“We’re on our knees here, I’m on my knees. Please listen.”

His comments add to growing pressure on the Treasury to revisit its approach to hospitality ahead of future fiscal events, as operators warn that closures such as Cambridge could become more common without additional support.