Framing it as a Budget “built on fiscal discipline, which matches immediate action today with clear direction for the future,” the Chancellor set out measures spanning innovation funding, support for first-time buyers and faster grid connections.
For the sectors Bidwells works across, from science and technology to housing, energy and land, the announcements bring welcome steps forward alongside some missed opportunities.
Our experts give their reaction below:
Science, technology and innovation
Matthew Allen, Senior Executive Director at Bidwells and Executive Director of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board: “The Chancellor's emphasis on innovation in this Budget is welcome, particularly the Government's shift from funding research to commercialising it. If the state's biggest buyers If the state's biggest buyers such as the NHS, the Ministry of Defence and Great British Energy back British scale-ups early, and the Scale Up Fund and pension reforms such as the Mansion House Accord direct more growth capital into UK companies, more of them will grow here rather than leave for the US.
“Keeping our best companies here also depends on having somewhere for them to grow and somewhere affordable for their employees to live. Grid connections and water capacity should be the next priority for our growing science clusters.”
British Business Bank
Sue Foxley, Research Director at Bidwells:
“The additional £5 billion for the British Business Bank is a welcome step towards tackling one of the biggest barriers to British innovation. The UK is exceptionally well placed at creating promising science and technology companies, but too many struggle to secure the investment they need to grow into global businesses.
“Research by Bidwells and Beauhurst found that, of every pound of growth-stage capital raised by UK university spinouts since the start of 2022, just 0.8p came from funding rounds backed entirely by UK investors. Not a single growth-stage round above £75 million was funded by UK capital alone.
“The additional funding can help close that gap, particularly if it attracts more private investment into British businesses as they scale up. But capital is only one part of the picture. These companies also need laboratories, offices, infrastructure and skilled workers if they are to grow here rather than take their next stage overseas. The Government must make sure these investments work together if Britain is to capture the full economic benefits of its world-class research.”
Residential
Scott Cabot, Head of Residential Research at Bidwells: Your First Home is a welcome policy, as anything that helps first-time buyers onto the ladder and keeps new-build sales moving is a step forward. But it is unlikely to repeat the success of Help to Buy. The original scheme launched into a recovering market with rock-bottom interest rates and far lower build costs. Today the main constraint is viability.
“It is disappointing that the policy does not come into effect until spring, which means we can expect another six months of first-time buyers holding off on buying new homes -- and therefore more pain for housebuilders, especially smaller developers."
Grid connections and renewable energy
Clive Meikle, Partner and Head of Grid and Infrastructure at Bidwells: “A great deal of positive development is being held back by the lack of a grid connection, with some projects facing waits of a decade or more. The NESO decision to limit pre-2030 connections for Scottish onshore wind farms only to those developments with planning permission in place prior to the cut-off date has left many projects without any expectation of a connection until well into the 2030s. The Budget's measures to speed up grid connections for data centres and make on-site energy generation easier are welcome, but it is disappointing that the Government did not go further to give renewable energy developers more certainty by prioritising projects that can realistically be delivered before 2030.
“The charging model needs reform too. Generators pay fees to use the national transmission network, and those fees are highest for projects furthest from where the power is used. This has the effect of reducing the economic viability of wind development (onshore and offshore) in the very areas where the UK's wind resource is at its greatest.
“As new pylons and power lines are built across the countryside, there needs to be a greater recognition of their impact on the farmers and landowners whose land they cross. Years of uncertainty during the planning stage, followed by disruption during construction and subsequent changes to how that land and forestry can be managed, often have a greater impact than anticipated.”
