Of all the levers available, reforming business rates presents the single biggest opportunity for the Chancellor to help retailers keep investing, says Thierry Garnier
If the Prime Minister wants to deliver growth in every postcode, he can look at the businesses that are already present in every community.
Retailers employ 2.75m people across the country and can support that ambition, but we are facing difficult decisions.
At Kingfisher we are delivering investment through our B&Q and Screwfix stores, creating jobs and supporting local communities across the UK. We are investing in new stores, opening over 20 this year alone. We share the government’s concerns about the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), and we have committed to offering work experience placements at B&Q and Screwfix to help tackle this.
While we want to keep doing this, whether we can depends on what the Chancellor decides in this Budget.
If the government wants growth that people can see in their community, supporting shops is one of the most efficient ways to deliver it.
Business rates remain a heavy burden for shops up and down the country. But large shops are now being impacted by the introduction of a new business rates multiplier, meaning they face the prospect of even higher bills. These stores are anchors in their towns, providing jobs and drawing in customers who then spend elsewhere.
The 20 per cent cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues recognised that rates bills are a key factor in whether a local business invests or retreats. The same logic applies to the rest of the UK’s high streets and retail parks
The 20 per cent cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues recognised that rates bills are a key factor in whether a local business invests or retreats. The same logic applies to the rest of the UK’s high streets and retail parks.
If the government is committed to its growth strategy, it must reform this long-outdated business rates system and level the playing field between bricks and mortar shops and online-only operators.
We understand the Chancellor faces difficult choices, but with a new administration comes new opportunities for change. Our message to deliver growth is therefore simple: take shops out of paying the higher rate.
These changes matter even more now because rates aren’t the only increased cost we face. In the past 18 months, retailers have absorbed sharp rises in employment, packaging and energy costs, and have worked hard not to pass them on to customers already feeling the squeeze. Every additional cost makes that harder. Of all the levers available, reforming business rates presents the single biggest opportunity for the Chancellor to help retailers keep investing.
We are ready to power growth in every corner of the country.
By choosing to reform business rates, the Chancellor can unlock investment, protect local jobs, and ensure high streets and their local areas remain the beating heart of our communities. The opportunity is clear. Now is the moment to seize it.
Thierry Garnier is chief executive at Kingfisher