Phones 4u founder John Caudwell (pictured) and former Marks & Spencer boss Lord Stuart Rose have joined over 150 business leaders & parliamentarians calling on ministers to ‘stop the creep of taxes on Britain’s businesses’.
The two men are the most prominent of a wave of influential backers of founder group Helm’s Stop the Creep campaign, alongside Christos Angelides, CEO of fashion retailer Reiss, and Charlie Mullins, who founded Pimlico Plumbers.
In an open letter – which you can read below – they say they want the Government to make the Autumn Budget on 28th October the moment it delivers on its pro-growth promises.
The campaign, led by Helm, the UK’s largest community of scale-up founders, is calling on Chancellor John Healey to halt and reverse what it says are ‘creeping taxes that punish founders for scaling their businesses’.
Stop the Creep wants Healey to reverse the rise in Employers’ National Insurance, restore the entrepreneurial reliefs that have been cut and set out a clear, stable roadmap for business taxation.
Caudwell, who built Phones 4u before selling his business group for £1.5 billion, switched his support from the Conservatives to Labour at the 2024 general election, but has since said he was ‘misled’ by the party’s pro-business promises.
Lord Stuart Rose, one of the most respected figures in British business, served as chief executive of Marks & Spencer and chairman of Asda. Mullins sold Pimlico Plumbers in 2021 and has already left the UK for Spain over the increasing tax burden.
The signatories also warn of a “death by a thousand cuts” for Britain’s wealth creators, with the new backers joining Luke Johnson, Gail’s Bakery chair, Johnnie Boden, founder of Boden, and dozens of politicians, including Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith.
Andreas Adamides, CEO of Helm, said: “John Caudwell wanted this Government to succeed. Lord Rose has spent half a century at the top of British business. Charlie Mullins has already left. That is what training entrepreneurs for export looks like.
“When founders of this calibre unite around one cause the Government should listen, because these are exactly the people it needs onside to deliver the growth it has promised.
“Britain’s founders are ready and willing to work with the Government to deliver on its growth ambitions. Andy Burnham says he is pro-growth, and we take him at his word, but his first Budget this autumn will be the real test of this commitment.
“Stopping the creep of taxes on wealth creators, and giving business the certainty it needs to invest, would be the clearest possible signal that this Government wants Britain’s founders to build and succeed here.”
Lord Stuart Rose of Monewden, now chairman of Zenith Vehicles, said: “I have been in business for over 50 years and have never been more concerned about the cost of doing business and building businesses that are financially sustainable for the long term. Employment costs and regulations are now serious impediments to growth and employment.
“Employers’ National Insurance alone took a hundred million pounds a year out of one supermarket. Multiply that across the economy and it is easy to see why investment has stalled. The good news is that this is within the Government’s gift to fix.
“This is not about special treatment. If the Government wants businesses to create jobs and growth, the Budget is the moment to ease the burden on the act of creating them.”
Helm says its members run scale-up businesses with a combined revenue of more than £8 billion and contribute £1bn a year in tax, while the average Helm member is the CEO of a company with an annual turnover of £21 million.
Open letter in full
Britain’s founders built their businesses here. The tax system is telling them to leave.
Sir,
Britain’s founders spend years taking risks, working all hours, forgoing salaries and creating jobs in the hope of one day creating a company that can pay for their retirement.
The odds are stacked against them.
Only four out of every 10 businesses in the UK see their fifth birthday. And while most business owners dream of one day selling their business and retiring on the proceeds, vanishingly few ever do.
There are five million registered companies in the UK, yet just 1,400 sold for more than £1m in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Yet the reward for the years of sacrifice for those few who make it to a big-ticket sale is a tax bill that has nearly doubled in the last two years.
The last Chancellor told people she wanted to make the United Kingdom the most attractive place in the world for founders to start and scale a business. Yet the relentless creep of taxes on founders suggests otherwise. Employers’ National Insurance and Capital Gains Tax on dividends are up, Business Asset Disposal Relief, Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief are all down. It is death by a thousand cuts.
And while Britain tightens the screws on its wealth creators, competing nations are rolling out the red carpet. The United States offers zero tax on the first $10 million of a company sale. Cyprus, Portugal, the UAE and Singapore are all wooing Britain’s founders with low-tax regimes and pro-growth regulations.
The Government’s own advisers warned Britain risks becoming an incubator economy, world-class at creating businesses, unable to keep them.
However, all is not lost. We believe Britain remains one of the most entrepreneurial and dynamic countries on Earth. Andy Burnham has promised a pro-business government. Act now, and he can keep that promise, and keep Britain’s scale-up founders here. Fail, and Britain will continue training entrepreneurs for export.
This is why the Stop the Creep campaign is calling on the Chancellor to stop the corrosive tax rises on Britain’s businesses.
Signed:
Andreas Adamides, CEO, Helm
John Caudwell, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Lord Rose of Monewden, Chairman, Zenith Vehicles
Christos Angelides, CEO, Reiss
Charlie Mullins OBE, Chairman, WeFix London
Luke Johnson, Chairman, Gail’s Bakery
Andrew Griffith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business & Trade
Priti Patel MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Marcel Khan, CEO, Franco Manca & The Real Greek
Johnnie Boden, Founder, Boden
Hussein Kanji, Founding Partner, Hoxton Ventures
Duncan Cheatle, Founder, Helm Club
Alex Fenton, Partner, Funding Bay Limited
Christian Faes, Co-Founder, LendInvest
Desmond Swayne MP
Rt Hon Esther McVey MP
Jack Rankin MP
Robert Colvile, Director, Centre for Policy Studies
Kevin Hollinrake MP, Shadow Minister without Portfolio (Conservative Party Chair)
Rt Hon Sir Julian Smith KCB CBE
Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary
Mark Slack, Co-Founder, CMR Surgical
Nick Timothy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Sir Andrew Mitchell MP
Lord Bridges of Headley MBE
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP
Gregory Stafford MP
Jerome Mayhew MP
Charlie Dewhirst MP
Nigel Huddleston MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport
Rebecca Smith MP
Harriet Cross MP
Dominic McGregor, Founder, Fearless Adventures
Thomas Lock, Founder & Managing Director, The British Snack Co.
Andrea Reynolds, Co-Founder & CEO, Swoop Funding
Ed Leon Klinger, Co-Founder & CEO, Flock
Antton Peña, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Flock
Teddie Levenfiche, Co-Founder, PerfectTed
David Reed MP
Ben Obese-Jecty MP
Paul Taylor, Co-Founder & CEO, Thought Machine
Barney Hussey-Yeo, Founder & CEO, Cleo AI
Martin Wolstencroft, Chief Executive Officer, ARC Inspirations
Nick Broom, Founder & CEO, PVL UK
Mauricio Palacios-Serna, Managing Director, Serna FM
Gamze Priest, Founder & CEO, Software Works For You
James Allam, CEO, Amthal Group Limited
Chris Wheatcroft, Director, Prosper and Enterprise Ltd
Alan Jones, Founder & CEO, YEO Messaging
Nick Gill, Co-Founder & CEO, The Global Living Company
David Gormer, Founder, Ignition Accounting Limited
Mark Colquhoun, Founder, Beyond Exit
Stephen (Steve) Hickey, Founder & CEO, Digital Control Room
Derek Bishop, Founder & Director, Culture Consultancy
Gareth Broekmann, Founder & Managing Director, Charles Square
Jordan Schlipf, CEO, Cowshed
David Sherwood, Co-Founder & CEO, BibliU
Andrew Schofield, Founder & CEO, Finelight Group
Eugene Gallagher, Managing Director, Cobbles
Lee Wheelan, CEO, Acuity Solutions
Julien Slade, Founder & Director, Brookton
Adrian Lomas, CEO, Elevate Leadership
Andrew Hookway, Founder & Managing Director, Extech Cloud
Michael Llewellyn, Director, LSC Properties
Christopher Monery, Director, CN Foods
Mark Mccormack, Co-CEO, Talking Tables
Claudia Dreier-Poepperl, Chairman of the Board, Appvestor
Ali Aydan, Founder & CEO, Dorix
Stephen Goknel, Founder & Managing Director, Mello Sleep
Rob Hamilton, Director, The Hyde Ventures
Sean Lambert, Proprietor, Minerva Supported Living
Freddie Archdale, Founder Success Manager, Helm
Ben Barbanel, Chief Lending Officer, OakNorth
Cat Kevern, MD, Electric Cat
David Johnson, D/Gauge Ltd
Jamie Hamer, Founder, Loxa
Tom Carroll, Founder, OhSo Technical
Sheyi Lisk-Carew, Founder, Oclas Group
Sila Demirok, Founder, Iron Arrow Consulting
Jill Tipping, Founder, Pavelka Limited
Alan Carter, Founder, Life People Business
Sanjith Mukund, Founder, JrnyOn Limited
John Stapleton, Founder, The Stapleton Academy
Edward Goodchild, Founder, Zendht Venture Studio
Andrew Fishwick, CEO, Hestia
Jennifer Dunman, Daisy First Aid
Thomas Martin, Founder, Content Rocket
Nigar Huseynzade, SIAR
Neil Cameron, Founder, Sport Works
James Townsend, Founder, Kontor
Sarj Radia, Founder, CarePoint365
Marcus Cronan, Founder, AI Tappers
Anthony Barone, Founder, StudioHawk
Lisa Cluer, Founder, Inside Out Contracts
Kieron Garlic, Founder, Present Communications
Mrs Wallerson, Founder, Grow
Pete Moores, Founder & Chief Problem Solver, PBM Consulting Ltd
John Readman, Founder & CEO, Modo25
Amanda Thomson, Founder & CEO, Noughty
Susie Ashfield, Founder, Speak2Impact
Henrik Utvik, CEO, Vecs Shipping
Amber Williamson, Founder, Digital Willow Ltd
Fiona Ferrar, Founder, Kali Atman Bhavanta
Max Pollock, Founder, Eightfold
Judi Adrienne, Founder, Notebook International
Paul Wilson, Director
Ben Ludzker, Managing Director, Kays Medical
Sarah Foord, Director, South West Motorhomes
Sue Denton, Managing Director, First for Childcare
Erin Sutcliff, Founder, Tin Trousers Limited
Jed Thirkettle, Founder, JUCED
Mark Eaton, Managing Director, People Puzzles
Jonathan Patterson, Founder, JHP Electrical
Paul McIntosh, Managing Director, Bridgehead International Agency Ltd
Tarig El-Sheikh, Founder & CEO, Garden Games Ltd
Sophie Brannon, Founder, MARO Digital
Ann Grier, Founder, The Seed Group
Mark Kirby, Founder, GoEngage
Serge Santos, Founder, Funding Alternative
Clive Bonny, Chairman, Strategic Management Partners
Richard Little, Managing Director, Jenton Group
Maziar Darvish, Founder & CEO, CognitionHub
Andrew Stevens, Professional EOS Implementer, EOS Worldwide
Richard Wassell, Founder, twentyretail
Martin Ward, Founder, Silicon Square Limited
Mark White, Managing Director, Langdon Customs Solutions
Steven Selwood, Partner, RSM
Steven Daniels, Founder, Clarior Futura Ltd
Sarfraz Fayyaz, Founder, Biznav Chartered Accountants
Paul Bojarski, Co-Founder & CEO, Sceenic
Scott Ferrall, Managing Director, Matsco Solutions
Graham Caleb, Founder, Delti Ltd
Clive Shiret, Chairman, Garon Park CIC
Stephen Driver, Founder & CEO, Jiva Materials
Daniel Herbert, Founder, Springthink
Lorenzo Jones, Managing Director, Ventec 100 Ltd
Iain Colquhoun, Founder, ReconIQ
Tim Graveney, CEO, Kibou Restaurants
Jo Clarke, Founder, Toasted Crumpet
Tony Hanley, Managing Director, FirePro UK Ltd
Andrew Fleet, Founder, Critical Insights Ltd
Rob Bridgman, Founder & CEO, EmergentOS
Ed Walker, Founder, Fika Catering Co Ltd
James Robson, Founder & CEO, FundOnion
Peter Swanson, Managing Director, Intertronics
Barbak Yamini, Founder, St Caspian
Sam Clark, Co-Founder, Experience Travel Group
David Emerson, Founder, Logistics Labs
Stuart Wischhusen, CEO, Bpak Ltd
Stacey Body, Founder, Aventur
Christine Nicholson, Founder, Nicholson Hall Advisory
Andrew Adams, Founder, Acme
Aneta Mortlock, Founder, Megi Wellness
Tyrell Simpson, Founder, Resiaction Staffordshire Ltd
Adrian Cresswell, Director, Mammut Investments Ltd
Michael Banister, Founder, Hunter Luxury
Tony Matharu, Founder & Chairman, Integrity International Group (IIG)
Colin Spiller, Managing Director, Zenis Ltd
Marcus Walker, CEO, Meridian Industries
Nick Thistleton, Co-Founder, Lucky Voice
Paul Maurice, Chief Executive, Green Sheep Group