Rachel Reeves, a chancellor in the UK cash register, outside the Downing 11 Street, before presenting her budget to the Parliament in London on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.
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The Kingfisher House Protection Seller has become the latest British company that has reported a negative impact on the Budget of UK Finance Rachel Reeves – because it prepares its latest updating of the state of the British economy.
In his annual earnings on Tuesday, Kingfisher, who owns a retail retailer B&H, said that government policies “increased the costs for traders and influenced the mood of consumers”, with the sale of items with large tickets.
This is the latest in a series of British companies that criticized Reeves’ budget to increase bumpers From autumn. The companies will now carefully monitor the Reeves spring statement, when she should update the legislators on her latest consumption and tax plans on Wednesday at 12:30 in London.
The peak on the complaint list is a higher employment cost after the Government has committed to increase national insurance contributions from employers in October and increased the “national life salary” in the country by 6.7% of April 1.
On Sunday, Reeves defended the tax rise on the eve of the statement on Wednesday, saying Sky News that the Government “took the action that was needed to ensure that our public services and public finances be firmly trimming.”
However, numerous companies facing consumers have marked the concerns of government economic policies in their earnings reports in this quarter. Include a giant supermarket Heavywho said that his larger national insurance contributions could add up to £ 250 million ($ 324 million) with annual costs, while the President of the JD Wetherspoon Pub chain, Tim Martin, said that changes would cost each of his pubs 1,500 pounds a week.
Regis Schultz, Executive Director of Sports Clothing Seller JD Sports, said politics mean that it is tempting for companies to reduce the number of staff and hours, “which will be bad news for the economy.”
It comes when the UK is fighting economic slowness, growing prices and wide uncertainty as a result of global trade tariffs by US President Donald Trump.
The Budget Liability Office (OB), the guardian of independent public finances in the country is Supposedly expected In order to reduce the predictions of the UK growth for 2025. On Wednesday, halving its previous estimates of 2%.
AB Foods, which owns the budget fashion salesman Primark, blamed the budget of the Labor Government as a contribution to the wider weakness of consumer in the country. Finance Director Eoin Tonga told analysts that buyers through his brands were careful, citing “shock and fear, who made people get into horns.” This position was shared by the clothing saleswoman of Frasers Group, who said she had less consumer confidence about the budget announcement. Chris Wootton’s Chief CEO told Reuters that “the company” felt we were thrown out in the face. “
A negative corporate comment is expected to pressure Reeves on the eve of her spring statement.
The British retail consortium urged the Government to “insert confidence in the economy”, warning that the April increase in tax contributions and minimum wages would achieve £ 5 billion additional costs for traders, giving “many options, but to encourage prices.”
The British Industry Confederation (CBI) said Reeves “has to inject a job with a serious increase in trust on Wednesday.”
“As a direct priority, the government should contact again so that it does not further raise the tax burden on the business during this parliament,” the CBI’s chief economist Louise Hellem said in a statement. “Establishing an ambitious goal for spending research and development, facilitating investment in skills and taking measures to reduce regulatory load for business would be encouraging moves that would show that the Government understands what the job needs to be seen from them.”
The main strategist of capital Goldman Sachs Oppenheimer, meanwhile, told CNBC on Monday that concern about consumers and business confidence would see that Reeves would focus on the reduction of costs and not on the tax increase this week, but said that the focus of the Government was a “praiseworthy goal”.
CNBC addressed the British Treasury for comment.
– CNBC -Ill Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.
