Britain’s biggest retailers have warned that hundreds of large shops could close and as many as 100,000 jobs be lost if the government presses ahead with plans to raise business rates on larger properties. Retailers argue they would be forced to either close stores, cut jobs or pass on costs through higher prices in order to protect margins. They have urged chancellor Rachel Reeves to exempt the sector from the surcharge, warning that removing large retailers would undermine the wider retail ecosystem by depriving nearby cafes, pubs and independent shops of footfall. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, 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 shops. Reeves said the government wanted to see “thriving high streets and small businesses investing in their future, not held back by outdated rules or strangled by red tape”.