Brighton Pier has been put up for sale after its owner blamed Rachel Reeves’s minimum wage increase for piling pressure on the business.

The tourist attraction, which dates back to 1899, is one of several hospitality businesses likely to be sold by Brighton Pier Group, the former stock market listed leisure group chaired by serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson.

Mr Johnson, the former chairman of Gail’s, Pizza Express and Patisserie Valerie, said he was “actively” looking to offload the pier and its other tourist attractions after the Chancellor’s maiden Budget left the group under financial strain.

The company said it was uncertain whether there would be “sufficient cash resources” to repay its debts, meaning selling off some of its prized assets was almost inevitable.

In its latest accounts, directors of the company blamed “significant increases in the National Living Wage, National Insurance and a reduction in retail, hospitality and leisure [business rates] relief” which continued to “bear down on operating margins across the business”.

It is also “actively in discussions” with its lenders on securing potential waivers for loan agreements that it had breached during the year.

Brighton Pier Group also owns bars and mini-golf sites across Britain, as well as the Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park in North Yorkshire.

The struggling leisure group quit the London stock market in May to become a private company. At the time, it cited the “disproportionate” burden of having to pay between £250,000 and £300,000 annually to keep its listing, as well as volatility in the share price.

Poor weather and falling consumer spending at its leisure attractions also contributed to the delisting.

The minimum wage could rise even further at this month’s Budget, with reports the Chancellor could increase it by another 4pc to £12.70 an hour or £26,416 a year for a full-time worker.

Last year she increased the National Living Wage by 6.7pc to £12.21 an hour.

The latest expected increase has fuelled fears that employment for young people will stagnate as bosses adjust their recruitment patterns.

Ms Reeves shocked businesses last year with an unexpected £25bn raid on employers’ National Insurance contributions.

Economists have since warned that the pain may continue, in the Chancellor’s efforts to plug a black hole in the public finances. However, she has faced warnings that more businesses will be pushed to the brink if she embarks on a fresh tax raid.

Leading trade organisations including the British Chambers of Commerce and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales have cautioned that jobs, investment and growth would be at risk if she targeted businesses again.

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