Budget Response From Business Leaders

Business round up
Rachel Engwell, partner and Northern head of tax for Grant Thornton, said: “The extension of the furlough scheme and business rates holiday are all vital steps which Yorkshire businesses have been calling for; particularly those in retail, leisure and the other sectors so disproportionately affected by lockdown restrictions. The £5bn boost to help these businesses to turn the lights on again and begin trading in trading conditions which may be very different, will be welcomed too.

“This Budget was always going to be dominated by two areas: measures to support the economy as, despite vaccines rollout continuing apace, we are far from out of the woods; and the difficult decisions the Chancellor will have to take to balance record public spending, the likes of which has not been seen in peacetime.

“We are delighted to see that Leeds will be at the epicentre of the green industrial revolution as the home of the new £12bn UK Infrastructure Bank. This new institution will help not only drive our regional economy, creating new jobs, but underlines our city’s credentials as a world-class centre for financial and professional services."

“In addition, Humberside’s status as one of eight new Freeports to drive growth and investment in the post-Brexit era, and the creation of new Treasury North campus in Darlington shows that the Government is beginning to fulfil its pledge to level-up the economy. However, we still need to see further commitments to creating 21st century transport infrastructure and more regional devolution if the North is to reach its full potential.”



Steve Harris, Regional Director for Yorkshire at Lloyds Bank, said: “Hospitality and leisure businesses are at the heart of communities across Yorkshire and are the cornerstone of the regional economy. Sadly, they remain some of the hardest hit by the UK’s three lockdowns. Today the Government has introduced a series of measures that will prove critical in helping them recover and plan for the future.

“Ensuring businesses have the means to recover safely, while reducing pressure on their cashflow, will be key to navigating the roadmap out of lockdown. So it’s great to see the Government’s pledge to extend the 5% reduced rate of VAT for a further six months, and its introduction of new Restart grants to support those businesses that had faced closures during lockdown. Steps like this are key to helping firms focus on trading and will be a critical part of championing the region’s recovery from the impact of Covid-19.”

David Brennan, CEO of Nexus Vehicle Rental.
After more than a year of uncertainty surrounding Brexit and Covid-19, we can now see some light at the end of the tunnel with the success of the vaccine rollout and the government’s ‘road map’ out of lockdown, however, we can now look ahead with optimism. The chancellor’s assertion that for businesses, certainty matters., cannot be understated.

After a turbulent year, today’s Budget announcement highlights the need for businesses to remain flexible, agile, and adaptable, and we welcome the much-anticipated extension of the furlough scheme to support individuals and businesses as the country gets back on its feet.

Businesses have been reliant on the furlough scheme, business rates relief and deferred VAT payments and despite lockdown restrictions easing in the coming months, continued financial support from the government remains vital to the survival of many firms in the vehicle rental sector.

It was inevitable that the country would have to repay debts racked up throughout the pandemic, with a rise in corporation tax by even just 1% would contributing an extra £3bn to this, helping the UK push its way into recovery, so we should be reassured that the increase from 19% to 25% is in the best interests of the country. Given this will not come into effect until 2023 and operate on a sliding scale for firms, it’s encouraging that the chancellor recognises now is not the time to raise taxes for business, many of whom are struggling with restrictions and need time to get back on their feet.

It’s promising to see the Chancellor’s commitment to helping the regions level up and grow post-pandemic and post-Brexit, particularly the North, with the location of Treasury North revealed as Darlington, and that the Humber and Teesside are amongst the first wave of freeport locations. These locations will be key to boosting trade, jobs, investment, and confidence across the UK.

A renewed commitment to green growth is reassuring, and given our headquarters in Leeds, it’s especially gratifying to hear that the first ever UK infrastructure bank will be located in in the city and focused on investing in the green industrial revolution from the Spring.

The continued freeze on fuel duty for the eleventh consecutive year should prove a relief to many as well. The government’s continued support of the transport and logistics sector, which is critical to the UK economy, is extremely welcome. However, whilst the government is also clearly sign-posting fleets towards a greener future in light of the looming petrol and diesel ban in 2030, it must further support the production of EVs to increase affordability, as well as put the appropriate infrastructure in place, to enable more businesses to see how this transition could be a realistic solution.

It remains to be seen how the opportunities presented by freeports and tax freezes will translate into the fleet sector but the level of additional investment and tax breaks the government has committed to today is promising. Following today’s announcement, we need to now see a clear timing plan for the projects that the government intends to refocus on to boost the economy to reassure businesses and enable them to drive forward with confidence."


Richard Taylor, who heads up BGF in Yorkshire and the North East, said: “The Help to Grow scheme funding announced for SMEs today is welcome recognition that technology and talent is key to improving the productivity of entrepreneurial businesses. It could help to unlock future growth for individual companies and drive recovery. When we back businesses, growth capital is often put to work by investing in leadership, people, skills and improving technology.

“That said, funding alone is never the answer. SME business owners need to consider the long-term, strategic roadmap for their approach to management training or investment in new technology for it to have the desired impact. The key to success is having access to the right advice and the ability to tap into a network which has experience developing and delivering a strategy around talent or technology - those who have been there and done it.

"There's a real opportunity for business owners to share the lessons learned to help drive our regional recovery. We see this work well across our own portfolio.”



R3 the insolvency and restructuring trade body, said: “The Chancellor’s decision to extend the furlough scheme, to provide further business grants and a new loans scheme, and to continue the business rates holiday will give welcome certainty for many business owners concerned at their prospects over the coming months. The new Super Deduction measure could also be a huge boost for business investment at a crucial time for the economy.

“However, what was missing from the Chancellor’s Budget was detail about the Government’s role once these measures start to be withdrawn. As a key creditor in most corporate insolvencies, the Government has a direct role to play in supporting viable restructuring and business rescue proposals. HMRC in particular has not always taken a constructive approach to these proposals, and we would like to see this change sooner rather than later.

“By taking a more active and engaged stance as a creditor, the Government could help to save more potentially viable businesses, thereby safeguarding thousands of jobs, securing future tax income, and giving companies a chance to deal with liabilities resulting from the pandemic.

“There’s no denying the Government’s COVID measures have helped businesses in the short-term, but as the Chancellor pointed out, these can’t last forever. Directors of struggling companies now have a few months in which to start making plans and taking decisions to secure the future of their businesses.

“We would urge directors and business owners to use this time to seek advice from a qualified source as early as possible, to give them the broadest range of options for resolving the issues their businesses face.”