‘A missed opportunity’: What does the Autumn Budget mean for UK startups?
Rachel Reeves unveiled policies to support startups, but could more have been done?
The Autumn Budget offered limited but uneven support for UK startups, with modest gains overshadowed by missed opportunities for growth. Dr Joseba Martinez of London Business School sets the tone in an article written by Lara Bryant in Sifted , describing the measures as incremental rather than catalytic: they do not make the UK a worse place to build a startup, but they fall short of what is needed to drive scale and productivity.
Martinez highlights the expansion of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) as a clear positive, allowing companies to raise more capital and better support growth-stage firms. Eli Khrapko, LBS alumnus and cofounder of Wype, agrees, calling the EIS increase a “positive surprise.” However, he questions the logic of pairing this with a reduction in Venture Capital Trust (VCT) tax relief, which could deter investors and blunt the intended impact.
Beyond incentives, Martinez argues the Budget neglects deeper structural issues, particularly the tax treatment of intellectual property and insufficient support for universities. Slow write-offs for IP and tighter visa rules, he warns, constrain cash flow, innovation, and access to international talent at critical stages of growth.
Founders also point to persistent cost and talent pressures. Nina Briance, LBS alumna and founder of CULT MIA, notes that high living costs in London continue to inflate salary expectations, while the Budget did little to expand access to specialised skills. Khrapko echoes this, acknowledging the quality of UK talent but its scarcity.
Overall, the Budget reinforces early-stage support but does little to shift the fundamentals for scaling startups, leaving the UK steady, but not more competitive.
This article is the first of several which arise from a Knowledge Partnership between Sifted and London Business School.