Overview
- The Trumpet Inn near Ledbury is offering a 5% reduction on food and drink for cash payments, dropping a £6 pint to £5.70.
- Since the offer began a couple of weeks ago, cash use has risen from about 5% of transactions to roughly 50%, with regulars responding positively.
- Landlord Alan Davies says savings from reduced bank fees could fund the wages of an additional staff member.
- Staff report adjusting to handling more notes and coins, and Davies rejects suggestions the move is about tax avoidance, saying all sales go through the tills.
- The initiative comes as pubs face mounting costs, with a new 15% cut to business rates announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves criticized by industry voices as insufficient.