On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak (or “dishy” Rishi as my mum calls him) announced a “mini” (£30bn) budget as part of the government’s coronavirus recovery plan.
The continuation of the “whatever it takes” messaging should be taken as a positive when considering the outlook for the UK economy. The creativity that the Chancellor is demonstrating in his schemes is also reassuring to see.
Savings rates have spiked during this crisis and increasing the velocity of money is of the utmost importance – both for the survival of many businesses and therefore unemployment. If the Chancellor can create a virtuous cycle of more spending, this would help more businesses to survive and therefore lead to less unemployment. With less unemployment, consumers are more inclined to spend and therefore this would be a pathway to minimise the economic fallout from COVID-19. Hopefully Rishi’s deft touch will prove more efficient than just throwing money at the problem with helicopter payments.
Below we assess the impact of the support measures announced and its impacts on some of the sectors in the UK. We also highlight the personal impact on some of our UK equity portfolio managers.
Mini budget: What? Why? Winners?
- Housebuilders (and mortgage providers?)
- What? A stamp duty holiday on the first £500k of properties (a max 15k saving for the buyer).
- Why? This will hopefully benefit all housebuilders by getting the housing market moving again.
- Winners? Housebuilders with higher average selling prices (Berkeley and Countryside Properties) and brick producers (Forterra).
- UK Core winner? Callum Abbot. He might finally be able to get off Old Kent Road in his ongoing game of monopoly.
Our view: we are positive on housebuilders due to their returns on capital, strong cash flow generation and attractive valuations. They have the support of an undersupply of housing in the UK which should provide them with structural growth into the medium term.
- Hospitality industry double whammy
- What? VAT on food, accommodation and attractions will be cut from 20% to 5%.
- What? “Eat Out to Help Out” discount which will provide government funded discounts to consumers from Monday to Wednesday.
- Why? By increasing the velocity of money in the industry it aims to keep people in jobs and businesses liquid.
- Winners? Pubs (Mitchells and Butlers… the Hack & Hop?), Hoteliers, attractions (Hollywood Bowl).
- UK Core loser? Will Meadon’s waistline and wallet. The “spend more to save more” policy will be enforced by his children this August.
Our view: this remains a challenging environment for anybody in the hospitality industry. Encouraging people to get out and spend is an uphill battle as consumers remain nervous about COVID-19 and their personal finances. This is reflected in the depressed valuations in the sector and value opportunities will present themselves in companies that can adapt and have limited balance sheet risk.
- Retailers
- What? £9bn bonus program to encourage employers to keep staff on into 2021.
- Why? By keeping unemployment levels in check then hopefully consumer confidence and spending won’t suffer as much.
- Winners? Any beneficiary of the UK consumer but namely the high street (WH Smith, Dunelm, Next, JD Sports).
- UK Core winner? James Illsley. Less chance of his favourite clothing brand, M&S, closing his local store.
Our view: In retail we think that the challenges the industry face have been accentuated by this crisis and this will continue despite government support. We favour the retail names with a strong brand, differentiated product offering and good online platform.
- Building materials
- What? Vouchers of up to £5000 for energy saving home improvements.
- Why? This helps the green agenda as well as encouraging people to spend and keep people in jobs.
- Winners? Building merchants (Travis Perkins, Grafton).
- UK Core winner? Anthony. Now he has honed his DIY plumbing skills, he can focus on insulating next.
Our view: we are incrementally positive on home improvements and construction companies in the UK. Valuations look attractive given the spending in these areas from both consumers (looking to improve their homes as they spend more time in them) and the government (stimulating the economy through infrastructure spend).
There has been some criticism around the lack of stimulus announced at this “mini” budget but I think it is prudent. Between now and the autumn budget/spending review the UK has a lot of challenges to face but by the autumn there should also be greater clarity on where the pain caused by COVID-19 is being most acutely felt.
| Scheme | Max cost |
| Job retention bonus | £9.4bn |
| Infrastructure spending | £5.6bn |
| Hospitality VAT cut | £4.1bn |
| Stamp duty holiday | £3.8bn |
| Kickstart program | £2.1bn |
| Green homes grant | £2.0bn |
| Skill and apprenticeships | £1.6bn |
| Public sector green spend | £1.1bn |
| Eat out to help out | £0.5bn |
| £30.2bn |
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