Business reaction to Reeves’s spring statement: confidence remains fragile as costs rise and support lags
Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her 2025 spring statement today, outlining £14 billion in cuts to restore the UK’s fiscal headroom and committing £2.2 billion in defence investment.
While the measures are aimed at tackling Britain’s debt and boosting economic resilience, business leaders have voiced concern that the statement did little to support growth, especially among the UK’s SMEs and entrepreneurial community.
Theo Chatha, CFO at Bibby Financial Services, described the statement as “a huge disappointment” for small and medium-sized enterprises, saying: “We know 87% of SME business leaders are eager to invest, and nearly half were deferring major investment decisions until after today’s statement. Will SMEs feel more confident after today’s announcements? Likely not,” he said.
Chatha warned of a continued “wait and see” approach, with businesses delaying spending on machinery, tech and recruitment — risking further economic stagnation. He added that rising business rates and National Insurance contributions, combined with the lack of SME-specific support, marked this as “a missed opportunity.”
Julian Mulhare, Managing Director, EMEA at Searce, welcomed the government’s commitment to digital transformation within the public sector but warned that simply investing in tech won’t solve deep-rooted inefficiencies. Mulhare, commented: “Tech alone won’t solve the problem. Too many organisations still plan in five-year cycles that can’t keep up with innovation, or dive in without clear goals. Real transformation starts with process first, technology second — focusing on scalable, interoperable solutions that support how people actually work.”
Dr Marc Warner, CEO of AI firm Faculty, was more direct in his assessment, stating: “With anaemic growth since 2008, the Chancellor must realise tinkering around the margins will not arrest the UK’s economic slump. The path to reviving our economy will be paved by technology — and AI is now widely recognised as the most important of our time.”
Adebola Babatunde, Financial Planning Director at Rathbones, said the Spring Statement failed to inspire confidence among entrepreneurs.
“With over 10,000 millionaires reportedly leaving the country last year, today’s statement could have been a pivotal moment to reverse the trend and cultivate a thriving ecosystem for innovation and growth. Instead, it felt like a missed opportunity to energise the entrepreneurial community.”
Genevieve Morris, Head of Corporate Tax, took issue with the Chancellor’s claim that working people aren’t footing the bill for increased NICs.
“Show me an employer in the UK that is not critically reviewing their costs of employment and making decisions on headcount or recruitment as a result,” she said.
“If you increase the costs on a business, they will increase prices and/or make cost reductions. That £500 average household benefit won’t go far when we’re paying £50 for a pint of milk.”
Brendan Callan, CEO of trading platform Tradu, criticised the lack of action on share trading stamp duty — an issue many in the finance sector had lobbied on.
“Stamp duty is a tax that increases costs and makes UK markets less competitive, driving retail investors toward lower-cost markets like the US. By scrapping it, the Chancellor could have boosted investor participation and strengthened UK capital markets. Without that action, the UK risks falling further behind global peers.”
As the UK faces slow growth and fiscal constraints, business leaders remain cautious. While there was broad support for tech investment and AI-led public sector reform, the absence of meaningful incentives for SMEs, investors and entrepreneurs leaves questions over whether today’s statement will be enough to restore confidence and ignite economic momentum.