Recently, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced the government’s latest wave of economic policy; implemented to assist in the UK’s economic recovery following the record GDP decrease of 20.4% in April. Within the announcements, the incoming policy reform placed a large focus on the hospitality and tourism sector, the property market, the job market and the environment. An overview is as follows:
- A cut in the rate of VAT from 20% to 5% on food, non-alcoholic drinks, accommodation and attractions.
- Introduction of the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, offering everyone in the UK a government funded 50% discount on meals from participating restaurants, every Monday to Wednesday throughout August.
- Increase in the stamp duty property value threshold from £125,000 to £500,000, until the end of March 2021.
- Introduction of a £30bn fund to incentivise the retention of furloughed staff and increase the number of work placements, traineeships and apprenticeships offered.
- Introduction of a £3bn green investment fund, offering £2bn of grants to homeowners for energy efficient upgrades and £1bn of investment for environmental upgrades to public sector buildings.
We expect these policy implementations to increase the level of buyer interest across every sector, credited to the stamp duty adjustments allowing business owners to sell faster should they wish to release their asset value to invest in buying a business. Further, we expect a surge of interest from buyers in the hospitality and tourism sector following the VAT relief and ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, providing the market with renewed confidence.