Unidek/News

Unidek Ltd gives the 2010 Budget a cautious thumbs up

Unidek, the company behind Europe's favourite SIPS technology, have given the pre-election Budget a very cautious thumbs up. Here, Mike Ormesher, General Manager, explains why.

"It looks like the Chancellor has placed business at the heart of this year's budget", says Mike. "Whilst rises in alcohol and fuel will undoubtedly make the headlines, it is certainly a positive move for the residential property sector and the nation's house builders that stamp duty has been increased to £250,000. This will allow first time buyers to gain a foothold on the property ladder. Whilst we would all have liked to see this brought in ‘across the board' to stimulate the housing sector, it will nevertheless have a stimulating effect". What we would have liked was positive support for helping households to improve the energy efficiency of the home, which is a disappointing pre-election stance, given the drive for a sustainable future policy. Hopefully this will be communicated more positively post the election!

"And, as an SME in the UK, we are encouraged by the new investment initiatives in this sector. The reduction in business rates will provide some tax relief to smaller businesses who make a crucial contribution to the sector, whilst entrepreneurs have been incentivised by additional capital gains tax relief to invest more in UK PLC as a whole."

"The big linger will be how the next or continuing Government set their stall for investment into the construction industry and how they deliver green and renewable investment. The continued support for initiatives like Kick-Start and others is crucial in getting the UK housing market back to the target of 250,000 houses per year.

"The use of MMC initiatives such as SIPS have been welcomed by groups of Parliamentary officials at initiatives such as the Delphi collaboration so we now await the chance to demonstrate just how easily we can build the UK's sustainable future with a ‘fabric first approach' that will stand the test of time".

"Overall, there were not too many surprises - but then we expected this with an election imminent".

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