British business chiefs urge positive action from Chancellor Rachel Reeves after doom and gloom start

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves tried to tone down the doom and gloom in her party conference speech in Liverpool yesterday.

Last week figures showed consumer confidence had slumped following her warnings of “tough choices” in the looming Budget.

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And firms have put hiring and investment on ice until they get more Government clarity.

So were these British business chiefs convinced by her attempt to be more upbeat about the future?

RICHARD WALKER

Exec chairman, Iceland supermarket

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“I THINK the rhetoric so far has been quite downbeat, so it is important to sell an optimistic, bold vision.

Labour is in a tight spot of being squeezed on the left and the right of the part.

 But they do need to give a sense of ambition and it’s good they did that.

The industrial strategy is important because we absolutely need a joined-up, well-thought-out strategy, almost like Harold Wilson’s “white heat of technology” speech 60 years ago.

We need something we can sell and get behind to be confident and ambitious about.

An industrial strategy shouldn’t just focus on the big shiny stuff, it should focus on the politics of ordinary life, be that the buses, high street or connectivity, things that are essential to the everyday. Investment is critically needed.

It was encouraging that the Chancellor came back to business rates a few times in quite clear language that the system is broken and needs reform.

Now it needs to move to reality to protect the high street and jobs.”

MIKE RAYBOULD

CEO, Portmeirion homeware

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“IF Reeves and the Government are serious about ‘building Britain together’, they need to value manufacturing and the jobs and communities it supports.

Government must play a critical support role for firms by creating a low-tax, high-investment economy.”

ROWAN CROZIER

CEO, Brandauer metal-stamping

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“AN industrial strategy is long overdue. The Chancellor’s focus on it is a welcome first step ­forward.

The country is seeing severe constipation over investment decisions due to the current ­negativity the Government is pushing and the uncertainty this creates.”

STEVE HARE

CEO, FTSE 100 tech firm Sage

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“THIS honest speech highlights that growth is the challenge and investment is the solution.

A focus on digitisation and technology investment is essential — e-invoicing is a prime example.

We have to break out of the current cycle of negative sentiment.”

PAUL THWAITE

CEO, NatWest Group bank

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“OUR Chancellor is right when she says investment is the key to boosting UK growth.

These ambitions require the contribution of every part of Britain. There is so much potential in the UK.

I am optimistic we will succeed and grow together.”

ROMI SAVOVA

CEO, pension provider PensionBee

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“MESSAGES encouraging growth are welcome, especially in tech and science.

My industry is holding its breath for initiatives to use money in pension funds to unleash investment.

Details of the Budget cannot come soon enough to quell savers’ nerves.”

NEIL STEVENS

CEO, fintech firm Fintel

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“LABOUR’S manifesto promised hope and since then we had got the opposite so yesterday was a welcome shift.

London’s junior stock market has to be supported, either by encouraging pension funds to invest more or to give more incentives to invest.”

NIMISHA RAJA MBE

Founder, Nim’s fruit & veg crisps

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“REEVES has been complaining about the ‘black hole’ in the economy. The first rule of business… work with the cards you are dealt.

The Industrial Strategy is important but it must not overlook the needs of small business.”

JOHN ROBERTS

CEO, electrical retailer AO World

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“WHAT we really need is to stop the waste and not just keep raising taxes.

Creating the right reward-for-risk ratio is critical to inspire investment.

There are lots of warm words but very little that I’ve seen in the way of an actual plan to make it happen.”

OZ FIRM’S MOVE No3

RIGHTMOVE will “carefully consider” a £6.1billion takeover approach from Australia’s REA Group after rejecting two previous offers.

The sweetened price of 770p-a-share is a 39 per cent premium to the property site’s share price before the takeover approach was made public.

REA Group is majority-owned by News Corp, which is the ­ultimate owner of The Sun. Its chief executive Owen Wilson said: “We are genuinely disappointed at the lack of engagement by Rightmove’s board.”

Rightmove shares edged up by just 0.77 per cent to 679.6p.

TRAINING AID BY BT

BT is setting up a £4million fund to help small firms and charities launch up to 550 apprenticeships.

The telecom giant is using £4million of its own unspent apprenticeship levy to team up with apprentice-provider Babington over four years.

It is the latest big company to come up with its own answer to the Government’s apprenticeship levy, which requires bigger firms to set aside 0.5 per cent of annual payroll. But firms argue the schemes are too narrow and as a result £2.2billion in unspent funding has gone back to the Treasury since the levy began.

DUNELMCASH-IN

DUNELM’S deputy chairman has cashed in on the home retailer’s recent growth and sold £123million of shares.

Will Adderley, whose parents founded the firm, last night sold 10million shares, which is equivalent to 4.9 per cent of the entire company.

Mr Adderley still owns around a third of the business and said he remained “fully committed” to it.

Dunelm has shot up to a valuation of £2.5billion, shrugging off a tough market. Its success came after profits at the start of the month turned out to be better than expected.