The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement contained no real surprises in regard to the UK’s poor economic growth predictions or the potential problems if the Eurozone crisis is not resolved soon. He said ‘If the rest of Europe heads into recession, it will be hard to avoid one in the UK’.

The main positive announcement regarded infrastructure investment which may be seen as moving in a positive direction for the future development of Nettleton Bottom and Junction 10 of the M5.

Chris Mattos (from Randall and Payne) said: ‘Many local businesses have concerns over planning and employment law and the ability to access finance. Today’s Autumn Statement has some encouraging news for them'

Planning law
The time taken for planning decisions continues to be an issue for many Gloucestershire businesses. The new timescale for non-planning consents will be welcomed. Planning issues can only really be resolved by central governments so this is a helpful development for the building and related industries.

Andrew Watton of Andrew Watton and Co. said ‘Lifting planning permission restrictions and speeding up the planning process is what the whole industry is waiting for. The 13 week maximum deadline for decisions on planning will also be really useful.’

Employment law
The government announced consultations to ease employment regulations to try to make it easier for small businesses to take on employees from 2012. Whilst this may reduce the risk of employment tribunals, the financial burden of employing staff has not been eased.

Christophe Coquoin of the Cotswold Food Club said ‘The summer has been incredibly busy for us as people decided to holiday in the UK rather than abroad. However, the leisure industry is not helped enough in this country – it employs a huge amount of people because it’s labour intensive but it’s becoming more and more expensive to employ people and there was little encouragement today.’

Business funding
The National Loan Guarantee Scheme has been launched to encourage banks to make more money available for small businesses with the government guaranteeing up to £40 billion. It is expected that companies will benefit from a 1% reduced rate of interest.

Matthew Martin from WSP Solicitors said ‘As always, the real issue is accessing the money at a local level. Is the money actually available when it comes down to it? In some cases it becomes uneconomical to pursue it.’

In addition to the above and following on from the government’s consultation of the Enterprise Investment Scheme, a new incentive for start-up companies has been announced. Under the scheme, individuals can benefit from income tax relief of 50% for investment of shares in qualifying companies with an annual investment limit of £100,000. This is a significant improvement to the current scheme which offers relief at 30%.

Chris Mattos said ‘we have seen increasing interest in the EIS so this is a welcome announcement but we will have to look at the detail of this to see how flexible it is in assisting new businesses’. For more information please contact Chris at cjm@randall-payne.co.uk.

How we can help
For businesses wishing to raise finance there continues to be numerous funding options available. The credit easing announcements today should strengthen the ability to obtain investment. We have long established relationships with many funders and investors, including major banks and independent finance houses.

For more information on finance options please contact John Barker at jb@randall-payne.co.uk.