TV personality Jeremy Clarkson has admitted that "things are pretty terrible" as he expressed concerns about the future of one of his businesses. After a distinguished career in motoring journalism on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, Clarkson found a new fanbase with his highly popular Amazon Prime series, Clarkson's Farm.
In 2024, he launched a pub, The Farmer's Dog, in Asthall, near Burford, Oxfordshire, to complement his Diddly Squat Farm. However, he described the situation as "pretty bleak" for this aspect of his business portfolio.
Echoing the sentiments of fellow celebrity and pub owner Tom Kerridge, Clarkson voiced his worries about the increase in business rates.
In his Sunday Times column, he wrote: "The chef Tom Kerridge said the rates on his burger joint in Marlow would go up from £50,000 a year to £124,000. 'What's the point in being open?' he asks reasonably. At my pub, the Farmer's Dog, things aren't quite that bleak but they're still pretty terrible.
"The rateable value would rocket from £27,250 to £55,000 and when you factor in the national insurance rise, which has increased our wage bill by £42,000 a year, we'd be in a tight spot", reports the Express.
"Because how can you pass this on to customers when they have a £2billion gas bill to pay and they can't get there anyway because of the new drink driving rules."
This news follows the announcement that Clarkson has won a planning dispute over a car park at his pub, formerly known as The Windmill.
Planning permission for parking at the venue, which boasts 170 spaces, was already in place. The establishment has attracted numerous visitors since appearing on Clarkson's popular Amazon Prime programme.
West Oxfordshire District Council indicated that off-road parking provision should help prevent motorists from stopping on the A40 or the Asthall road.
Clarkson purchased the establishment for £1million shortly after encountering the previous owner in 2023. The property encompasses five acres.
The television presenter also revealed that his medication is "eating" his muscles in a candid disclosure about his wellbeing, though he confessed he's reluctant to take the necessary steps to "counteract this".
The former Top Gear presenter's revelation emerged in a recent column where he offered his views on an "actual car", specifically the new Mercedes-AMG CLE Coupé.
Clarkson chose to discuss the New Year and our apparent inability to maintain our resolutions, including the aspiration for "living clean", a lifestyle philosophy he believes "simply isn't worth the effort".
He also mentioned his use of the weight loss injection Mounjaro and how he "absolutely must" undertake a particular task - commonly linked with New Year's resolutions - to "counteract" a specific side effect.
The 65-year-old wrote in the Times: "The human being is a flawed design. We have the intellectual capacity to work out what is good for us, but most of us can't be bothered to do anything about it."