How I have found myself agreeing with both Mike Ashley and Boris Johnson in the space of a week - Mark Casci

I experienced my most surprising moment of lockdown so far last week as something I never in a million years expected to happen took place – I found myself agreeing with Mike Ashley.

This unsettling and bizarre state of affairs concerned his remarks about the Government’s decision to delay the revaluation of business rates, with the next valuation of the property tax now set to take place in 2023.

Ashley’s retail vehicle, Frasers Group, warned it will have to review the future of some of its stores in light of the announcement, speaking of its “anguish and bewilderment” about having to pay outdated business rates based on 2015 valuations for the next two years.

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High street units have seen their values decline in recent years as shoppers have increasingly shifted to online retailers, a process exacerbated by Covid lockdowns which have pushed physical retail to unbearable limits.

Mr Ashley’s firm, which runs Sports Direct, said that the Government has now stood aside and “buried its head in the sand on the critical business rates issue, raising unfair and uneconomic revenue sums from already distressed businesses”.

In the statement, it added: “Not only has it has kicked the can down the road; it has also kicked businesses when they are clearly down.

“How many more businesses on the high street have to disappear and jobs be lost before the Government takes this issue seriously?

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“How does the Government reconcile its maintenance of a punitive and outdated business rates regime, with its predictable and devastating effect on the viability of bricks and mortar businesses, with its recent policy decisions seeking to have customers return to our high streets?”

Mike AshleyMike Ashley
Mike Ashley

The move comes during an epoch in which Government has had to provide unprecedented levels of support for businesses.

The furlough scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes, Bounce Back Loans, enhanced borrowing – the list is endless and poses serious question marks over the likelihood of us ever being in a scenario in which we are able to pay it back.

It is therefore to some degree understandable that the Treasury would want to look into what impact reforming the business rate system would happen in the context of Covid.

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However, it remains the case the system has been in need of reform for some time now, and it is not just vocal outliers like Ashley who think so. The system is unbelievably complex. There is some evidence that rate cuts are ‘capitalised’ into higher rents over time, benefiting landlords at the expense of ratepayers. While reliefs are available they are often targeted in an inefficient manner, with considerable regional variation in how they are applied.

Hull city centreHull city centre
Hull city centre

In short, the system should have been reformed years ago. Yet hard-pressed business owners now face another period in limbo before it will even be looked into, let alone brought up to scratch.

How many of these firms will live to see this process remains to be seen?

Boris bang on about public health

The news emanating from the office of the Prime Minister regarding public health was warmly welcomed and comes not before time.

Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Boris Johnson
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The new obesity strategy seeks to end confectionery displays at store checkouts and ban on adverts for foods high in fat, sugar and salt on TV before 9pm.

Deals such as ‘buy one get one free’ on unhealthy foods will also be banned, while alcoholic drinks could soon have to list their calorie content.

To his credit, Boris Johnson has admitted he had previously got it wrong on these matters, having previously dismissed state interventions on individuals health as at odds with liberal values.

However, following his time in hospital with Covid-19, he now concedes things need to change.

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For millennia humans were at risk of losing their lives from not having enough to eat. Now it is eating too much that is a greater danger.

This needs to be tackled as a society head on and Government has a role to play in this, without question.

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