Punishing the Kitchens That Feed the Economy

When doing business at home begins to feel like a penal exercise, capital and talent do not simply sit around to endure it—they leave. London’s preeminent culinary icons, from Mayfair mainstays to viral dining phenomena, are increasingly looking to the Gulf, East Asia, and the United States for their next ventures. The motivation behind this shift is as straightforward as it is predictable: a relentless tax burden that leaves virtually no reward for taking enterprise risk.

Consider the unforgiving mathematics facing a high-end British restaurateur today. On top of a 20 percent value-added tax on hospitality—substantially higher than the European average of around 12 percent, and double the 10 percent rate applied to restaurant food in Italy—businesses face a 25 percent corporation tax alongside dividend taxes exceeding 40 percent. For operators like James Robson, co-owner of the wildly popular St James’s Market restaurant Fallow, this fiscal pile-on renders British growth an exercise in futility. As Robson has pointed out, successive tax hikes have created an environment where domestic risk-taking no longer yields a viable return, forcing entrepreneurs to play it safe at home while directing real investment overseas.

The exodus is well under way. Esteemed institutions such as Scott’s, Gymkhana, Park Chinois, Isabel’s, and Borough Market’s Bread Ahead have all established outposts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Michelin-starred chefs such as Jason Atherton now spend a third of their time managing Middle Eastern operations, where generating a profit is demonstrably less precarious than in London. Overseas jurisdictions present a compelling alternative, offering pro-business administration in the Gulf, alongside strong work ethics and competitive tax systems across East Asia.

Yet, this foreign expansion brings distinct complications. Rights campaigners highlight the deficit of labor protections in the United Arab Emirates, where a vast migrant workforce operates under strict sponsorship systems without the right to unionize. Felix Jakens, campaign director at Amnesty International UK, noted that Dubai might look like an attractive place to do business, but the UAE has a very poor record on workers’ rights and protection from labour exploitation.

Geopolitical volatility also exposes these ventures to sudden disruption, as demonstrated by recent regional conflicts that temporarily shuttered venues like Dinner by Heston and caught out industry observers like the Michelin guide. Nevertheless, for British restaurateurs squeezed by state intervention and uncompetitive domestic policy, the risks abroad remain far more enticing than the guaranteed stagnation at home. When a nation treats commercial success primarily as an opportunity for extraction, it shouldn't wonder why its best talent chooses to build elsewhere.

Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com