Stakeholders give cautious welcome to Reeves' budget

Retail industry stakeholders are giving a mixed response to Chancellor Rachel Reeves's first budget unveiled today (30).

Reacting to the different provisions in the budget, Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of retail industry charity Retail Trust said, “Retail is the largest employer outside of the public sector so a healthy and happy retail workforce is important for our industry and for the country’s communities and high streets and its GDP.

“Yet right now, thousands of shop workers are contacting the Retail Trust say they’re now being forced to consider leaving a job they love and often have worked in for many years because they no longer feel safe there. We therefore welcome with open arms the new funding being announced to crack down on retail crime and provide more training to police officers to help better tackle this issue.”

“We’re also supportive of the government’s commitment to extend business rates relief and introduce permanent and lower rates from 2026 if it can help to give retailers more confidence to plan for the future to ease much of the uncertainty and insecurity currently facing everyone working in the industry.

“Increases to the national minimum wage and national living wage will also support many people across the retail sector by giving them the pay raise they deserve.

“And we fully agree with the Chancellor when she says that ‘healthy businesses depend on a healthy NHS’, and hope that new NHS funding will help address the declining levels of mental health we are seeing amongst the retail workers the Retail Trust supports, particularly the sector’s youngest workers who we’ve found are most likely to be taking time off or working whilst unwell.

“However, while we recognise that the need to raise more money to fund these vital NHS services comes with some difficult decisions, we echo the concerns from some in the retail sector about the long-term impact of increased National Insurance Contributions on both employers and their staff.”

Charlotte Broadbent, UK general manager at Faire, the online wholesale marketplace. said, “We welcome the Chancellor's commitment to easing the pressures on the UK high street and on small businesses, and it's a relief for retailers that this budget has taken some action on extending the business rates discount for retailers beyond April next year and freezing the tax multiplier. But reducing the rates discount from 75 per cent to 40 per cent will still mean a steep increase for them next year, at a time when many are already facing significant financial challenges.

“Permanent lower tax rates on retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from 2026-27 are promising, but proof will be in the detail and immediate relief is essential to keep high streets resilient in the face of economic pressures.

“We're also supportive of raising the employment allowance, which should come directly off every small employers' National Insurance bill next year.

“At Faire, we remain committed to supporting our community of over 50,000 independent retailers in the UK through these challenging times, by offering tools and solutions to help with financing, managing costs and growing sales.”

Michael Shapiro, Commercial Real Estate Partner at Spencer West LLP, comments, “For those in the retail and hospitality sectors, the cost of business rates is becoming prohibitive, and this is one of the major causes of so many high street units and pubs being empty. Anything that is giving support is welcomed. Whilst the business rates system needs a complete overhaul, this is at least a positive start.”