Tensions have been rising in the UK these past few weeks as speculation has ramped up about what will be unveiled in the Autumn Budget. Reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves planned to break the Labour Party’s election promise not to raise income taxes caused consternation. Then, last week, government sources told the Financial Times that Reeves had decided against the move after receiving better-than-expected economic forecasts.
Still, other tax changes — higher rates, reduced reliefs — are likely when Reeves unveils her budget on November 26, as Labour tries to plug the estimated £20 billion hole in the UK’s public finances.
For the British fashion industry, the budget comes at a high-stakes moment of acute cost pressure, low business confidence and mounting global competition. Brands are already struggling with rising taxes — including higher employer National Insurance — and fear further increases that could force price rises, squeeze already-thin margins, or stall hiring and investment.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over business rates reform threatens both independent retailers and large flagship stores. The industry is also concerned that investment in critical areas — from manufacturing and ‘Made in the UK’ infrastructure to circularity and sustainability innovation — may be deprioritized if the budget focuses on fiscal tightening over industrial strategy.
Perhaps the most pressing concern is that the UK has become less competitive internationally, particularly post-Brexit. Export-driven fashion businesses face ongoing trade friction, tariffs and weak government support for international growth. Removing VAT-free shopping is repeatedly cited as a major drag on tourism, luxury spending and overall UK attractiveness.
With business confidence down and companies operating in a volatile global market, decisions on tax, trade and industrial support will significantly shape whether British fashion can remain competitive at home and abroad.
Here’s what British fashion and luxury trade bodies, lobbyists, brands and manufacturers want to see from the 2025 Autumn Budget.
Laura Weir, CEO of the British Fashion Council (BFC)
British fashion is a cultural powerhouse and a significant economic driver for the UK, but it continues to face significant challenges post-Brexit and Covid. The BFC values the UK government’s funding commitments for the fashion sector outlined earlier this year in the Creative Industries Sector Plan; however, businesses still encounter difficulties in these tough times, and the budget offers an opportunity for the government to further support growth, opportunities and employment in this vital £67.5 billion sector.
The BFC has urged the chancellor to announce measures that would reduce costs and open up opportunities for British businesses. These include introducing a VAT Retail Export Scheme to incentivize international spending in the UK market, reducing business rates for retail and creative businesses, increasing export promotion funding for the fashion sector, and investing in creative skills and education.
Joshua Schulman, CEO of Burberry (from Burberry’s Q2 earnings call)
We are very proud of our British heritage, and we are proud to be a significant employer in Britain with our facilities here in London, with our stores, with our store network, and of course, with our manufacturing facility in Yorkshire.
From our perspective, what we would like the government to focus on is strengthening international competitiveness and attracting customers from around the world right here in the UK. We believe that one of the things that the government could proactively unlock would be to make London, again, the number one shopping destination in Europe. We would like to see progressive policies that reinvigorate international visitor spending, which support jobs and stimulate growth across the whole visitor economy.
And, perhaps, the most important of those in our world would be around changing the VAT refund scheme and putting us on par with European countries. We know that our tourist business here in London has gone down ever since the VAT refund was taken away. There is a significant opportunity here in a proactive way for all of us to come together between government and business to unlock further growth in the UK.
Adam Mansell, CEO of the UK Fashion and Textiles Association (UKFT)
Our top priority is the introduction of a textile-specific extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme. Our pilot work shows that an intelligent, data-driven EPR system is entirely deliverable and could raise up to £1 billion a year to drive genuine circularity — particularly closed-loop recycling, which is the sector’s holy grail. UK businesses across the supply chain are united behind this, and with the EU moving ahead with mandatory textile EPR, the UK cannot afford to be left behind.
We’re also calling for the reinstatement of VAT-free shopping, which would boost tourist spending and directly support the UK manufacturers supplying luxury brands. On exports, we need the Tradeshow Access Program back, alongside stronger embassy support. It was a simple, low-cost intervention that delivered a £1:£40 return and helped companies of all sizes enter new markets.
To protect sovereign capability, we are also urging the government to adopt UK-centric public procurement rules, particularly for technical textiles. This would provide far greater security of supply for critical products across defence, aerospace and health, while safeguarding and creating thousands of jobs and stimulating long-term investment.
Beyond that, we need the government to close the de minimis loophole on low-value direct-to-consumer (DTC) imports that don’t meet UK standards; expand innovation funding with clearer research and development (R&D) tax credit rules and full support for SMEs; address rising employment costs; keep childrenswear VAT-free; and crucially, make the Apprenticeship Levy more flexible so businesses can actually invest in the skills and creativity this industry needs.
Helen Brocklebank, CEO of Walpole
Walpole has laid out five priorities ahead of the Autumn Budget. First, we urge the government to take a measured approach to business rates reform. Large premises such as hotels, department stores and flagship retailers act as ‘anchor’ assets on the high streets, which draw in high-spending visitors who then also spend in smaller cafés, restaurants and boutiques. As such, the government’s plan to introduce extra business rates on premises over £500,000 is a concern. This will be a direct hit to flagship boutiques and high-end hotels, but the impact will be felt more widely across business. We have called on the chancellor to exclude retail, hospitality and leisure businesses of all sizes from this additional business rates burden.
Walpole is also calling for full expensing to be extended to secondhand plant and machinery. Many British luxury manufacturers rely on heritage equipment, often purchased refurbished. This investment is currently excluded from capital allowances and creates an unintended penalty for smaller and sustainability-focused makers.
Third, we want to see a competitive tax landscape, including the introduction of a modern visitor incentive scheme for international visitors. The absence of this policy continues to place the UK at a disadvantage to France, Italy and Spain, where high-spending tourists can reclaim VAT. Likewise, if the chancellor delivered a freeze on alcohol duty and introduced cellar door relief, she could help the luxury wines and spirits industry thrive.
Fourth, the Growth and Skills Levy needs to work more effectively for creative and craft skills. Luxury businesses train specialist makers, designers and hospitality professionals, but the current system lacks the flexibility required for businesses. Greater freedom in how levy funds can be used would allow the sector to expand high-quality skills and create new career pathways.
Finally, small businesses exporting urgently need support to navigate complex sustainability regulations in the EU and other global markets. For a sector that sells roughly 70% of its products overseas, clarity and help with compliance is essential to growth.
Tamara Cincik, founder of Fashion Roundtable
The key issue is we have a government who wants to plug what they see as a financial black hole, without talking about the impacts of Brexit and Covid. The impact of tariffs on business with our closest and largest trading partner [the EU] cannot be underestimated. This relationship needs to be reinvigorated, starting with a Youth Mobility Scheme to support young people from the UK and the EU to learn, work and travel more fluidly again between the two regions. Meanwhile, the luxury and high-end level of the sector is losing out due to the UK’s decision to not have tax-free shopping. This is impacting travel and hospitality, too, and has gifted sales to Paris and Milan.
An increase in National Insurance contributions, business rates and tax would impede growth rather than encourage investment. Many in business are dealing with the results of a sluggish economy, caught in the debt cycle of repaying [Covid-era] fiscal borrowing in a higher inflationary cycle than previous decade.
The UK has a burgeoning sustainability-driven fashion sector and this really needs incentivizing. I feel we need the same kind of tax incentives to manufacture here as the UK film and theatre industry has for productions made here. That would keep costs down for manufacturers and retailers, and they can then promote their provenance story while nurturing brand loyalty with domicile consumers. We cannot win a price war, but we can win a provenance debate. I would like to see the UK’s heritage brands incentivized to bring their manufacturing back to the UK, tax incentives for British-made brands, or local government intervention to open up empty retail units for local smaller brands to deliver pop-ups — imagine what that would do for local regeneration.
UK-made public procurement would transform UK manufacturing, which, in turn, would stabilize orders, boost investment and therefore enable manufacturers to level their cash flow and happily work with small brands for London Fashion Week. Stable order books nurture investment and growth, and this is what the sector is calling for.
Jess McGuire Dudley, managing director of John Smedley
Of course, everyone supports the principle of paying fair wages and the uplift in the national living wage to do so. But it feels short-sighted for the current government to focus purely on adding more costs to UK businesses, without also looking to bring procurement contracts or other forms of manufacturing support back to the UK. It’s created a cycle of costs going up and volumes coming down, which puts jobs at risk. Instead, the government could connect both aspects and focus on supporting both the employees and the industry they work within. A good start would be looking at a percentage of school or military uniforms, which could be brought back to the UK textiles industry. This is where some government support, or, preferably, some legislation, would level the playing field.
Ruth Rands, founder of Herd
All Herd wool pieces, including yarn, knitwear and tweed, are made in Britain — from farms in the North of England, through the few remaining historical factories, mills and knitting studios, to hand-finished garment. The depth of intergenerational expertise from hundreds of years of wool making, proximity, flexibility and smallish scale, make working locally a natural choice for us. Alongside quality, it also assures us of ethical practices in farming and working standards, supports innovation via R&D tax relief and reduces unnecessary transportation miles around the globe. It is without a doubt a more expensive option than overseas economies, but justifies the price as the quality of finish is unparalleled. We know, however, that there are many lower cost and quality options overseas, and that our suppliers are constantly struggling to compete. We have seen two of our suppliers close their doors this year, with their valuable skills, world-class equipment and know-how dispersed around the world, often to Asia.
The concept of British heritage is going nowhere, but how much is actually made here? Our globally recognized style heritage is such an important cultural and commercial export, and for it to fail would be a lose-lose outcome for everyone involved. Only by championing the British manufacturing industry — and using it — will there be a future as illustrious as its past.
