Rick Stein’s business ventures in Cornwall have suffered due to rising financial losses, as they face challenges from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax increases on employers.

The celebrity chef’s establishments, which include restaurants, hotels, shops, a cookery school, and an online business, experienced a drop in revenue last year, prompting his businesses to urge Ms. Reeves to alleviate the strain on employers.

At the Seafood Restaurant (Padstow), revenues dropped by £1.3million to £18.9million in 2024, while pre-tax losses widened from £204,000 to £459,000.

Including sales from the chef’s other company, Steins Trading, total revenues across his restaurant business were down 5.4 per cent to £30.4million.

Last October, Ms. Reeves’s decision to raise National Insurance contributions (NICs) imposed on employers sparked significant opposition from the hospitality industry. The £20 billion annual levy is one of the largest individual tax-raising actions in history.

As of April 2025, NICs have risen from 13.8 percent to 15 percent, and the threshold at which employers begin paying NICs has decreased from £9,100 to £5,000 annually.

Mr. Stein, along with many other hospitality business owners, voiced strong opposition to Ms. Reeves’s Autumn Budget, cautioning that the tax increase comes at a time when economic conditions are deterring people from going out as frequently.

Nearly 90,000 jobs have been lost across the hospitality sector since the Chancellor announced her sweeping tax raids.

According to the Telegraph, Mr Stein’s company blame their financial losses on ‘the prolonged effect of the national cost of living crisis with high inflation levels persisting into the year and consumer confidence diminishing’.  

It also pointed out that the price of ingredients and energy has been rising which has been ‘partly mitigated’ by adjusting its menu and prices.

That was felt in March, when diners hit out at Mr Stein’s fish and chips, describing them as ‘overpriced’ and believing they had mistakenly been served ‘child size portions’. 

Customers are charged a minimum of £15.95 for a takeaway serving of haddock and chips at Stein’s Fish & Chips and it rises to £19.95 for diners eating in — and if you want a pot of mayo on the side this will cost another £2.25. 

Ian Fitzgerald, managing director of Seafood Restaurant (Padstow), said: ‘Hospitality is a people-first industry, and we are proud to employ so many talented professionals across our restaurants whose passion for food and hospitality continues to shine through.

‘The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, needs to recognise the importance of employers like us and ease our financial pressures in the autumn Budget to prevent further job losses and support the recovery of the hospitality industry.’

Mr Stein and his former wife Jill opened their first restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, 50 years ago. 

Since then, his business portfolio has exploded across Cornwall and others parts of the UK, while Mr Stein himself has become synonymous with food programmes including Rick Stein’s Cornwall and Rick Stein’s Secret France. 

Mr Stein’s businesses in Padstow have led to the area being renamed Padstein.

He owns The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc’s Bistro, Rick Stein’s Cafe, Stein’s Fish & Chips, the Seafood Bar and Fishmongers and Ruby’s Bar, all in the fishing port.

He also owns the nearby Cornish Arms and Stein’s Gift Shop, a shop selling cookery equipment and knick-knacks. He also runs a cookery school in Padstow. Stein’s Fish and Chips opened in 2004.

The Mail has contacted Seafood Restaurant for comment.