‘Permanently lower’ business rates Budget announcement, comments from Novuna’s chief marketing officer Theresa Lindsay
“Cuts to business rates and wider tax pressures will come as a genuine relief for Britain’s high streets. With rates for retailers now set to fall to their lowest level since 1991, this isn’t abstract policy – for smaller shops it’s the difference between keeping staff or letting them go, between holding prices or being forced to raise them.
“After years of trading on wafer-thin margins, today’s measures offer some much-needed breathing space to stabilise and look beyond mere survival. But no one in retail believes these changes fix the fundamentals. Costs remain high, footfall is unpredictable, and physical shops still face fierce competition from online retailers who simply don’t carry the same overheads.
“So, while retailers will welcome today’s announcements, this cannot be boxed off as ‘job done’. If the government is serious about protecting the high street, it needs a long-term strategy that helps shops grow and thrive – not just hang on.”