More action was needed to galvanise market, agent says
MEASURES outlined in last month’s Budget have the potential to create an “exciting platform” for new businesses and entrepreneurs, but the chancellor could have gone further to galvanise the commercial property market.
That was the reaction from Christie & Co to chancellor George Osborne’s Budget late last month.
Brian Sheldon is confident the licensed property sector will continue to pick up pace. Recent deals concluded by Christie & Co include the sale of Chaplins Hotel in Belshill (pictured).
The property firm welcomed moves to cut corporation tax, introduce new ‘enterprise zones’, increase lending to small businesses (under the Project Merlin agreement between the government and banks), and relax planning laws to allow easier ‘change of use’ for properties. But it said more could have been done to galvanise the commercial property market.
“These measures, plus proposed tax reliefs to ‘business angels’, will potentially entice small business entrepreneurs into the property market and provide local competition in the small retail, bar and restaurant arenas,” said director Brian Sheldon (pictured right).
“However, we think it is unfortunate that the chancellor didn’t find the room in his Treasury chest to announce further radical measures aimed at stimulating the residential and commercial property markets, which remain moribund.”
Sheldon also criticised the decision to continue the 2% above inflation alcohol duty escalator, which he reckons will translate as a further 10p onto the price of a pint. But he said the firm is “encouraged” by opportunities afforded to small business entrepreneurs, saying the measures could “reignite” transactional activity in the licensed property sector.
“We remain confident, in spite of the pressures, that the best operators will continue to rise to the challenges presented by the chancellor in the Budget – bringing their skills for innovation and delivery of value-for-money acumen to bear in a marketplace where consumer spending will remain highly discretionary,” he added.
