Labour’s tax budget and broken promises on business rates mean prices can’t rise, Currys chief warns

Currys boss Alex Baldock has warned the Budget will lead to ‘inevitable’ price rises and hamper job creation.

And he attacked Chancellor Rachel Reeves for ignoring bad business rates, saying the Government had broken promises to act.

It comes as Julian Metcalfe, founder of Pret A Manger, said the business rates were ‘extremely expensive’.

Baldock said: ‘This is an unaided Fund for jobs, wages, investment and growth.’

The news comes after Reeves blindsided UK businesses by raising the employer rate of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 13.8 to 15 per cent and cutting the threshold for paying out from £9,100 to £5,000.

Currys was one of 81 stores that wrote to the CEO last month to warn the change would lead to fewer jobs, less wage growth and store closures.

Yesterday, when it published its half-year results, Currys said it was making £12million from the rise in NICs and £9million from the minimum wage rise announced in the Budget .

Baldock said the changes would ‘accelerate costs, reduce investment and cost, increase automation and outsourcing, and prevent cost overruns’. .

The ‘unacceptable’ conditions created a gloomy outlook for consumer confidence.

‘Over the summer, we looked at inflation coming down, interest rates coming down, consumer confidence going up, and progress has stopped.’

He added that Labour’s business rates policies ‘do not provide the kind of relief’ they need and will stifle growth.

Business rates are based on the value of a commercial property, which means that stores pay a premium to online stores like Amazon.

The CEO has delayed the introduction of the new rate system until 2026 at the earliest.

And under this coordination, more than 3,000 large shopping malls will be more expensive, according to property group Colliers.

The idea is to target warehouses used by online retailers, but it also applies to brick-and-mortar supermarkets.

Metcalfe, one of Britain’s most prominent businessmen, expressed dismay at the rates. In an interview with the Mail, he said: ‘Rates are higher than rent in many places now – it’s bad.’

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

There are fears that 17,300 stores could close in the next ten years without strong rate action. Ahead of the Budget, businesses urged the chancellor to extend Covid-era aid and then make reforms.

Instead, it has reduced the rate from 75 percent on hosting and marketing bills to 40 percent.

Sales at Currys rose 1 per cent to £3.92 billion for the six months to October 26, compared with the same period a year earlier. Losses fell to £10million from £44million. Shares rose 17.3 per cent, or 13.65p, to 92.65p.