John Healey’s Budget: Allowing a Recovery Breath

“London is our great economic powerhouse” says John. 

John Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK, declares in his budget announcement earlier in the day. 

He outlines plans for continued economic growth in the UK, committing to further spending in defence and AI. 

There will additionally be investment into the job market in an effort to curb those on benefits with dedicated funds for an apprenticeship programme. 

Raising the tax on banks

In the Budget speech earlier today, John Healey emphasised the use of the budget to allow ‘breathing room’ for the country. 

Since political instability in the Middle East has pushed energy prices up further, the effects are being felt in British households as the weather creeps into colder months. 

The Chancellor declared that the Budget will be providing £2.5bn (US$3.3bn) in support through the Household Energy Payment, in addition to extending a cut on the VAT to electricity until summer 2027. 

The funding for the supporting payment will come directly from the temporary Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge, which takes effect from 1 January 2027 to 31 March 2028. 

Positioning the UK as a hub for financial services growth 

The MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough also explained that it will be partnering with financial services to ensure that it remains a healthy and competitive sector operating in the UK. 

James Gibson, Head of Revolut Business, comments: “The Budget's focus on reducing administrative burdens, easing cost pressures and improving access to investment is a positive step towards strengthening the UK's small business economy. 

“Building on this progress, we hope to see continued ambition to ensure the UK remains the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

“The UK has the talent, ambition and ideas to build world-leading companies. By combining practical government support with a competitive financial services sector, we can help founders turn ambition into sustainable growth, create jobs and compete on the global stage.” 

Modernising the tax system 

Income Tax Self-Assessment expenses threshold of £2,500 (US$3,325) will be scrapped in an effort to close the tax gap. 

The budget also notes that taxpayers that submit Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax in April 2027 will face no penalty points for late submission for the first four quarterly updates for the next tax year, 2027-2028. 

As well as this, VAT invoices will now be in electronic format, commencing from 1 April 2029.  

Pierre Arman, Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal notes: “The Budget confirms VAT invoices must be issued as e-invoices from 1 April 2029, although the e-invoicing roadmap has just been published, the full details of the UK e-invoicing regime may not be known until April 2028, which would leave businesses with little time to get ready and could threaten business continuity” 

Defence spending and private investment 

In the current government, the country’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) has committed £10.9bn (US$14.5bn), with £21bn (US$27.9bn) of private financing. 

Overall, this has supported or created 83,000 jobs. 

The British Business Bank (BBB), founded in 2014 and wholly owned by HM Government, has to date deployed £39bn (US$51.8bn) of public funding, guaranteeing £16bn (US$21.28bn) of lending and mobilising an additional £23bn (US$30.5bn) in private sector capital. 

The government say over 260,000 businesses have seen benefits from the backing. 

A new  will launch a new focus on defence, dual use tech and sovereign capability. 

It was announced that the government will be committing up to £5bn (US$6.6bn) in investment and lending over the next four years as part of an Innovative Defence Financing Taskforce. 

Funds will come from the NWF and BBB. It will focus on defence and dual-use, among other things, to support national security and sovereign capability and resilience. 

A vested interest in AI

The Exchequer also announced that there will be more investment for AI, to navigate risks and boost growth. 

An additional £120m (US$159.6m) will go to the AI Security Institute and £140m (US$186.2m) into the Sovereign AI Unit. The capital will “back promising UK AI companies to scale and succeed” in the region. 

David Barber, Director of the UKRI Science of Fundamental AI Research Lab, Distinguished Scientist at UiPath notes: “The government confirmed more than £600m (US$798m) in AI investment in this Autumn Budget, reflecting a growing recognition that AI security needs to keep pace with the technology itself. 

“The additional £120m for the AI Security Institute is significant as businesses begin giving AI agents greater autonomy to make decision and take independent action.

“Beyond the Autumn Budget, the focus needs to be on helping businesses put AI to work safely and effectively. Investment in AI research and security is important, but it must be matched by progress in how organisations deploy and manage the technology. 

“If not, the UK risks developing increasingly sophisticated AI capabilities without seeing the full economic benefit.”

Revolut Business partners: 

Yuno: Integrating Revolut Pay and acquiring services directly into Yuno's orchestration platform to streamline global payments and business merchant acceptance.

OpenAI: Revolut, owner of Revolut Business, and OpenAI partnered to bundle AI tools (ChatGPT Go) across Revolut subscriptions, giving customers access to enhanced gen AI workflows and productivity tools. 

Alvarez & Marsal partners: 

Snoonu: Alvarez & Marsal advise tech super-app Snoonu to optimise operating models, drive sustainable growth and scale operational efficiency across the regional tech and startup ecosystem.

Teatro Real: Alvarez & Marsal established an institutional and cultural partnership with Madrid’s Teatro Real as part of A&M’s European community and cultural engagement strategy.

UiPath partners: 

Databricks: The partnership connected the UiPath Platform with Databricks data intelligence, enabling UiPath Maestro to orchestrate Databricks AI agents and access trusted enterprise data. 

BDO: UiPath expanded its partnership with BDO, expanding global collaboration with BDO to develop specialised, agentic automation accelerators across financial advisory, accounting and compliance workflows.