Up to 100,000 jobs and 400 of Britain’s biggest shops will be at risk if the Government pushes large stores into its proposed higher business rates tax band, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has cautioned.

Some of the UK’s biggest retailers would be hit with higher property tax charges as part of new rules being mulled ahead of the Budget in November.

The higher fees for larger sites, such as offices and warehouses, aim to pay for discounts for smaller business properties, including independent retailers, pubs and cafes.

Retail bosses, including those of B&Q, Lidl and John Lewis, met with Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week, calling for her to exempt retailers from the surcharge.

The new regulations target all business properties with a rateable value of over £500,000, with the surcharge potentially impacting 4,000 large retail outlets, the BRC said.

The trade association claimed that 400 big stores could shut, and that retailers may also increase prices or slash jobs to protect profits.

BRC CEO Helen Dickinson said: “Britain’s largest shops are magnets, pulling people into high streets, shopping centres and retail parks, supporting thousands of surrounding cafes, restaurants and smaller and independent shops.

“After years of rising costs, far too many stores have disappeared – leaving behind empty shells that once thrived at the heart of our communities.”

Writing to ministers this week, Reeves said: “We want to see thriving high streets and small businesses investing in their future, not held back by outdated rules or strangled by red tape.

“Our economy isn’t broken, but it does feel stuck. That’s why growth is our number one mission.”

In August, it was reported that over 100 big supermarkets were at risk from the UK’s planned business rates rise.

Around 50 of Sainsbury’s 600 larger stores will become unprofitable, while Tesco will see “tens of stores” tip into the red, The Financial Times reported.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter