Business
Doubling UK export funding capacity
£400m into venture capital funds through the British Business Bank to unlock £1bn in finance for growing firms
The Chancellor, Philip Hammond has revealed the first and the last Autumn Statement that there is a black hole of £122bn of additional lending required by the Government. Nonetheless, there is an air of resilence and for British businesses, the Chancellor has promised to further encourage exports and keep fluidity in lending so businesses can continue to grow and prosper. In fact, a fund of £23billion has been set up for innovation and infrastructure (rail, telecoms and housing). Encouragingly, the Northern Powerhouse initiative (a fund of up to £400m) is still intact. Other noteable changes are the ban of administrative charges for property lettings, a reduction in corporation tax from 20% to 17% and an increase in the minimum wage from £7.20 to £7.50 per annum from April 2017.
