Editor: The industry had been drip-fed news of measures over the couple of weeks before the Budget and had eagerly awaited details of these changes. While it’s encouraging to see the government’s pre-pandemic commitments back on the agenda, many of these have simply been recycled.
The housing sector will be benefiting from additional investment, although a number of £24bn “multi-year housing settlement” measures are simply reiterations of previous announcements. In fact, the only new measure is the £1.8bn fund to target brownfield sites for new housing.
Meanwhile, the Building Safety Fund has been increased to £5bn – a boost that will be funded by the new Residential Property Development Tax, a levy proposed before the pandemic.
The real estate sector will undoubtedly also benefit from the wider spending announcements on infrastructure.
The 50% discount on business rates is an encouraging gesture from the government for hospitality, retail and leisure, which have been struggling throughout the pandemic. However, the cancellation of the rate multiplier next year and three-year revaluation cycle is indicative of an outdated system, and something that the government must address in the near future.
Kersten Muller, managing director of Real Estate for the financial Investors Group, Alvarez & Marsal
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