Jason Myers, who runs five pubs across Surrey, says the cut is welcome but more is needed to help the sector.
“[It is] positive that this new government seems to want to engage [with] the hospitality industry, but we’ve got a way to go I think,” he added.
“We’ve got to get VAT down and we’ve really got to start tackling some of these headwinds.”
Myers said he was looking at opening sites in Paris and Dubai where “it’s a much better, level playing field”.
Jonny Abrahams, who runs four restaurants cross East and West Sussex, says he is concerned his businesses are not included in the cut.
“It’s great to hear of some help, but I guess it’s difficult to understand quite what the difference is,” he said.
“I’m a local independent business, employ 75 people, customers can come in and just have a drink, they can come in and have a meal, there’s not a huge difference with that and the pub down the road that does exactly the same thing.”
Abrahams said cost increases during the past three years had been “bonkers”.
“My employer’s National Insurance alone has doubled effectively and it went up by well over £30,000 a year, and again that’s the kind of thing that can make or break a business, and that’s just one cost alone,” he explained.