• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Wednesday October 28 2026

Healey’s first Budget: Business Biscuit partners give their reaction

John Healey’s first Budget was pitched as “breathing space” for a strained economy: targeted help for households and high streets, paired with incentives for entrepreneurs and growth sectors, while avoiding a headline increase in the main corporation tax rate.

The most eye-catching business measure is a new Founders’ Relief, offering a 10 per cent capital gains tax rate on up to £10 million of lifetime qualifying gains for founders of high-growth, innovative companies from April 2027. It is designed to encourage founders to build and scale in Britain, then reinvest in the next venture.

But the Chancellor simultaneously halved the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief from £1 million to £500,000 from April 2027. For owners outside the new founders’ regime, that narrows a long-standing exit incentive and could complicate succession planning.

On the high street, the Small Business Rate Relief threshold for retail, hospitality, and leisure premises rises from £12,000 to £18,000, taking around 70,000 businesses out of business rates altogether. Retail, hospitality and leisure properties will also see bills frozen in real terms, reduced, or cut to zero.

The catch is payroll. The National Living Wage rises 3.9 per cent to £13.21 an hour from April 2027, with the 18-20 minimum wage rising to £11.27 – welcome for 2.3 million lower-paid workers, but another cost pressure for labour-intensive employers.

Corporation tax remains at 25 per cent, with full expensing maintained and the main-rate first-year allowance increased from 40 per cent to 50 per cent, albeit alongside a lower main writing-down allowance.

Healey also promised more local control: 20 per cent of business rates revenue is earmarked for mayors from 2028, with full local retention by 2030.

What local businesses say

Local firms gave John Healey’s first Budget a cautious, sometimes sceptical reception: welcome for high-street relief and founder incentives, but concern that payroll costs, reduced business-sale relief and devolution could outweigh the benefits.

Matthew Drew, managing partner at Goughs Solicitors, said the key test was confidence. “What we needed from the budget was a boost to confidence, both business confidence and individual confidence. Did it deliver?” He saw “a little” for individuals, citing the National Living Allowance rise, energy-cost help, tariff removal on basic foods and long-overdue Lifetime ISA reform.

For businesses, he welcomed the British Business Bank doubling its commitment to women entrepreneurs to £200 million, Founders’ Relief, the business rates cuts, housebuilding measures and brownfield deregulation. But he added a warning: “Less welcome was the planned reduction in the Business Asset Relief on business disposals. Pledged cuts of government red tape are easy to announce, but difficult to implement, so we won’t hold our breath.”

Sally Holland, a partner at Swindon accountancy firm PPS Chartered Accountants, was more critical. “Nothing much to say on another disappointing budget,” she said. “As suspected, he has again hit business asset disposal relief (BADR), reducing the threshold from £1 million to £500k, again hitting the entrepreneurs.”

She also pointed to frozen income-tax thresholds creating continued fiscal drag, and concluded: “Small businesses will benefit from the business rates relief, but there did not seem to be much else to help.”

Dave Southby, founder of Southby & Co Financial Planning, said the Budget “highlighted yet again the need for financial advice” because of changes affecting savings, property income, business disposals and pension inheritance.

He welcomed the £20,000 Cash ISA limit remaining for under-65s, but warned that a further two per cent increase on savings and rental income makes allowances more valuable – particularly for higher and additional-rate taxpayers.

“Business owners should revisit succession and sale plans,” he said, noting the BADR lifetime limit falls from £1m to £500,000 in April 2027. On Founders’ Relief, he cautioned that “eligibility details are still subject to consultation.”

Business West CEO Douglas Ure was more upbeat. “It’s good to see support for businesses through measures on energy costs and business rates relief,” he said, also welcoming investment in AI, defence and life sciences, £10m for Bristol Temple Quarter, and wider South West devolution.

“There’s a real opportunity here to give local and regional leaders more of the tools they need to drive growth,” he said, though he stressed: “Of course, the detail will be important.”

Rob Stokes, director at Optimum Professional Services, summed up the tension: “On the face of it, the Budget did not appear to bring any particular good news for businesses – it was a case of give with one hand, and take with another.”

“Hospitality and leisure will benefit from the increase in the threshold for Small Business Rate Relief, but at the same time, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage are rising by nearly four per cent, and employers will bear this cost,” he said.

On Founders’ Relief, he asked: “Will it apply to existing businesses or only to new businesses? Is it the case of an old measure that has been wrapped up as something new, or is it a limited new relief?”

He also warned that the BADR reduction “may force business owners to sell off their companies earlier than they might have planned,” potentially costing them about £30,000. And on devolution, he called it “a red flag”, asking whether cash-strapped councils are “best placed to deliver value for this cash”.