Key facts
- As many as 52% of firms surveyed expected to be worse off because of Budget policies, the Guardian reported.
- The business rates threshold in England rose from £12,000 to £18,000, removing rates on properties below that rateable value.
- The National Living Wage for workers over 21 rises to £13.21 an hour from April 1, 2027, up 50p.
- Kenny Mann said the 3.9% minimum wage rise in April would effectively cancel out business rates relief.
- Dean Richmond of Pets Corner said rates changes were like moving deckchairs on the Titanic.
- Spencer Hannah of Herdy said rates relief did not counterbalance cost increases of the past two years.
As many as 52 per cent of British firms expected to be worse off as a result of policies announced in the Budget, according to a Guardian report published on October 29, 2026. Business owners interviewed by the newspaper said relief on business rates was outweighed by higher labor costs.
Chancellor John Healey raised the threshold at which High Street shops in England start paying business rates from £12,000 to £18,000, meaning no rates are paid on properties with a rateable value below that level. He also limited business rates increases to inflation for two years and moved to require online marketplaces such as Amazon to collect VAT from more sellers.
From April 1, 2027, workers over 21 on the National Living Wage will be paid £13.21 an hour, up 50p from £12.71. The rate for 18 to 20-year-olds rises to £11.27 an hour from April 1, up from £10.85, and the minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds rises 3.9% from £8 to £8.31.
Kenny Mann, who runs the Limas restaurant in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, told the BBC the Budget was a mixed bag. He welcomed the rates relief but said the 3.9% minimum wage increase in April would effectively cancel it out. "Small businesses and independents are really going to struggle, I think, moving forward," he said.
Dean Richmond, owner of the Pets Corner chain, told the Guardian the rates change was "a bit 'moving the deckchairs on the Titanic'" and that a bolder shift was needed to help offline retail. Spencer Hannah, co-founder of the Cumbria retailer Herdy, said the Budget lacked the "seismic difference" needed to help UK retailers and their suppliers.