As the dust settles on the UK’s five years of coalition government, there is one thing that most entrepreneurs and investors alike would agree on: that recent years have seen the UK perform incredibly well in developing a globally-competitive high growth business and technology ecosystem. From the introduction of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, to the launch of the British Business Bank, this was a government that placed a spotlight on entrepreneurship and enterprise. As such, this first Conservative Budget in 18 years had many pondering what the future holds for fast growing businesses – and indeed, whether this anticipated ‘austerity’ Budget would have anything for them at all.
The Chancellor certainly continued to demonstrate a dedication to businesses in yesterday’s Budget: the lowering of corporation tax sets the UK on the path to having one of the lowest in the world; changes to archaic Sunday trading laws pave the way for longer opening times; and the Annual Investment Allowance was set at £200,000 – not the £25,000 many expected. But what else did this Budget have to offer small businesses, and are there areas where it could have gone further?
The Northern Powerhouse and the ‘engine of growth’...