How is the Budget affecting businesses in Surrey?

Businesses in Surrey have given mixed reactions to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget, which outlined spending and taxation plans for the years ahead.

Key measures announced on Wednesday include scrapping the two-child benefit cap, freezing income tax thresholds until 2031, and introducing a tax on electric and hybrid vehicles from 2028.

Property agents say the budget will be good for small businesses but bad news for landlords. Care providers voiced concerns over the rise in minimum wage.

Martin Groves, landlord of the Hop Blossom pub in Farnham, said the budget “could have been a lot worse”.

Mr Groves told BBC Radio Surrey: “We always expected taxes to go up at some stage to pay for all the various outgoings that have gone on through Covid, so I’m not completely surprised,” he said.

“There are certainly costs that have been passed on to us, which in turn we pass on to our customers.

“It’s not as bad as when the energy prices went through the roof.

“That was a very scary time but anytime there’s an increase in cost nobody likes it and it always puts a little bit of strain on your business.”

Steve Lane, from Robinsons Property, which deals with commercial and private housing, said it could be bad news for landlords.

He said there is already “scarcity of stock” in residential lettings, as recent legislation, such as the Renters Rights Act due in May 2026, has resulted in “more and more landlords leaving the market and not investing”.

“That’s pushing up the rents,” he said.

He added there was an “unwelcome increase in tax on landlord income from rental property which, on top of recent legislation, rather dissuades people from investing in property to let”.

But there are some positives, he said: “There is a quiet lessening and reduction in the business rates for small properties.

“The detail is yet to come out in total but the smaller units will have a lower multiplier for their business rates, so small and medium businesses should pay slightly less. That’s good news.”

He said business rates for larger sites will worsen, though this should not be too much of an issue for smaller towns.

Michelle Wilson, care manager at Home Instead, a domiciliary care company based in Epsom and Dorking, said the rise in minimum wage could cause problems.

“The increase in minimum wage is obviously good for the working population,” she said.

“But providers are still recovering from this year’s National Insurance increase. Costs were pushed up without fees keeping pace.

“It’s already a very competitive market. The increase in wage is going to make it harder to remain competitive and I would imagine cause issues with recruitment and retention.

“We see this year’s budget as a bit of a double hit on social care.

“With an ageing population, with rapid growth in the over-75s continuing, that causes pressure on the NHS, so people are looking to private care.

“There’s some good points and bad points.”