2024 will be remembered for the ‘landslide’ victory for Labour at the UKs General Election, followed by a budget the Chancellor said would “rebuild Britain once again.”

One thing that’s certain is that businesses will feel the impact of increased employment costs. Coupled with higher interest rates, cashflow for many will need to be stringently managed in 2025.

We asked the team at TruSolv for their thoughts on the outlook for 2025 and what advice they had for business owners already concerned about another year they may have to fight to survive.

Matt Hoy:

The final nail in the coffin for some retailers.

Believe it or not, I’ve already had my first victim of the increase in Employers NI and the reduction of business rates relief – an independent sports shop already finding it hard to compete with the online offering. Now, they are unable to make a profit at all.

It’s a simple equation:

Increase in rent + Increase in employers NI + Reduction in business rates relief = Closure.

This won’t be the only retailer I speak to in the next few weeks.

MVLs

We’re still receiving regular enquiries about MVLs but we expect to see an increase early next year as businesses take advantage of the 10% business asset disposal relief. From 6 April 2025 it increases to 14%, and then to 18% the following April.

The good news is that we have a dedicated team of MVL experts ready to help them.

Gordon Johnston:

HMRC less patient?

We’re getting the impression that HMRC is becoming less patient and potentially ramping up the use of winding up petitions.

Lots of people opt to keep HMRC at arm’s length and we usually encourage directors to open dialogue with HMRC as early as possible if they are falling into arrears. This move to go straight to petitions instead of investigating time-to-pay options won’t enhance the reputation of HMRC any time soon.

Landlords under pressure.

Landlords are also gaining a reputation as ‘the bad guy’, looking to increase rents where they are struggling with higher interest rates and increased costs to cover.

Many are looking to develop commercial sites where they’re struggling with empty units. We’ve even seen viable businesses kicked out of their units to make this happen! It’s a vicious circle as these tenants will be pushed to pay increased rents or find alternative premises. 

If you need support…

Get in touch with us today. Whether you need to assess your options or you feel that you have reached the end of the line, we can provide qualified advice to deal with the situation appropriately.

If you’re looking to close your company via an MVL before the tax rate changes in April, then our dedicated team are ready to assist. Here’s some recent feedback we received.

Call 0808 196 8676 or email help@trusolv.co.uk.