On measures relevant to real estate:

Kersten Muller, Head of Real Estate and Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal said: “It’s unclear whether cutting the Stamp Duty Land Tax will have the desired impact. Experience from the pandemic Stamp Duty holiday shows that it stoked house price growth and so any savings were wiped out for first time buyers.”

The overhaul of the planning laws to encourage infrastructure and housebuilding is encouraging, however previous reforms show that changes to the planning system can lead to a period of paralysis. Any changes should also take into account environmental commitments.”

On the measures overall:

Kersten Muller, Head of Real Estate and Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal said: “The scrapping of the additional income tax rate of 45% was unexpected, given the significant other tax cuts. At a time when there is a lot of focus on the wealth gap, it is surprising that there were a number of measures that appear to be benefitting wealthier individuals more than ordinary families.

“Overall, I wonder how all of this is going to be paid for. Borrowing is to go up substantially and bond yields have already gone up 20 basis points. I think that is an indication of the markets not having much confidence that this will be the medicine the UK economy needs.”