Labour’s tax-hogging budget and broken promises on business rates mean price rises are inevitable, Currys boss warns

Currys boss Alex Baldock has warned the budget will lead to “inevitable” price rises and stifle job creation.

And he attacked Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ failure to tackle hated business rates, saying the Government had broken its promises to act.

It came as Pret A Manger founder Julian Metcalfe described trading fees as “incredibly expensive”.

Baldock said: “This is a useless budget for jobs, prices, investment and growth.”

The comments come after Reeves took UK businesses by surprise by increasing the rate of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent and reducing the threshold for paying them from £ 9,100 to £5,000.

Currys was one of 81 retailers who wrote to the Chancellor last month warning that the change would result in fewer jobs, lower wage growth and store closures.

Releasing half-year results yesterday, Currys said it would take a £12m hit from the NICs rise and £9m from an increase in the minimum wage announced in the Budget.

Baldock said the changes “will quickly and materially add costs, depress investment and hiring, drive automation and offshoring, and make some price increases inevitable.”

And the “unwanted” measures have created a bleaker outlook for consumer confidence.

“In the summer, we were seeing inflation falling, interest rates were expected to go down, consumer confidence was rising and progress has stalled.”

He added that Labour’s policies on business rates were “not at all the kind” of help needed and would slow growth.

Business rates are a tax based on the value of a commercial property, meaning stores pay a premium compared to online giants like Amazon.

The Chancellor has delayed the introduction of a new tariff system until 2026 at the earliest.

And under this restructuring, more than 3,000 large commercial properties will pay more, according to property group Colliers.

The idea is to target warehouses used by online shopping giants, but it would also affect traditional supermarkets.

Metcalfe, one of Britain’s best-known businessmen, echoed the frustration over the tariffs. In an interview with the Mail, he said: “In many places now prices are higher than rent – it’s a crime.”

Retailers including Kingfisher and HMV have backed The Mail’s ‘Save our High Streets’ campaign to urge reforms.

It is feared that 17,300 stores could close over the next decade if drastic action is not taken on tariffs. Ahead of the Budget, businesses urged the Chancellor to extend Covid-era help and then make reforms.

Instead, it has reduced relief from a 75 percent discount for all hotel bills and retail rates to 40 percent.

At Currys, sales rose 1 per cent to £3.92bn for the six months to October 26, compared with the same period a year earlier. Losses narrowed to £10m from £44m. The shares rose 17.3 per cent, or 13.65 pence, to 92.65 pence.