Bromwich Hardy give Budget broad welcome

Leading commercial property agency Bromwich Hardy gave a cautious welcome to today’s Budget – but warned that the economic recovery from the pandemic was still extremely vulnerable.

Founding partner of the Coventry-based firm Tom Bromwich said Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s £3billion plans to invest in education, skills and training and boost housing construction on brownfield sites with a £1.8billion investment were welcome.

Tom said he was pleased that the Chancellor had taken steps to overhaul the business rates system by moving to a three-year valuation cycle and giving a 50 per cent rate relief to the retail, hospitality and leisure sector.

“There is much that we would welcome in what the Chancellor announced today including the focus on skills, the investment in regional transport infrastructure and the help to meet our housing shortage by bringing old industrial land back into use.

“We are pleased to finally see some clarity on the long-awaited review of the business rates system and will study the implications for our clients in detail. But the headline figure of a £7billion cut in overall rates looks very welcome.”

Tom said the next few months would be crucial for determining how the economy would recover from the pandemic.

“The recovery, whilst stronger than expected, is still fragile and could easily be blown off course by rising inflation, changes to interest rates and issues such as the current recruitment crisis extending into the long term.

“The Government must ensure that businesses have the freedom to invest in their growth and their workforce.”

Bromwich Hardy is one of the country’s largest independent commercial property agencies, regularly featuring in independent lists of the most active firms in the industry.