His Majesty King Charles ÌII, Chancellor of Exchequer in the mini-budget of 23rd September 2022, revealed the proposal to have Investment zones in designated areas. These areas will have tax incentives for both commercial/industrial and residential Investment in the zones. In the Greater Birmingham area this is going to be in Solihull area near the HS 2 interchange Station, for Birmingham. The HS 2 is the high speed rail project which link UK’s major cities, once operational the time to travel to London will be 38 minutes. Furthermore, this area is close to the Birmingham International Airport. The location of the Investment zone will be a gamechanger for the Greater Birmingham area.

Budget statement extract on Investment Zones.
Investment Zones
The government will work with the devolved administrations and local partners to introduce Investment Zones across the UK.

Investment Zones aim to drive growth and unlock housing. Areas with Investment
Zones will benefit from tax incentives, planning liberalisation, and wider support for the local economy.
The specific interventions in Investment Zones will include:
• Lower taxes – businesses in designated sites will benefit from time-limited tax incentives.
• Accelerated development – there will be designated development sites to deliver growth and housing. Where planning applications are already in flight, they will be streamlined and we will work
with sites to understand what specific measures are needed to unlock growth, including disapplying legacy EU red tape where appropriate.

Development sites may be co-located with, or separate to, tax sites, depending on what makes most sense for the local economy.
• Wider support for local growth – for example, through greater control over local growth funding for areas with appropriate governance. Subject to demonstrating readiness, Mayoral CombinedAuthorities hosting Investment Zones will receive a single local growth settlement in the next Spending Review period.
Specified sites in England will benefit from a range of time-limited tax incentives over 10 years.
The tax incentives under consideration are:
• Business rates – 100% relief from business rates on newly occupied business premises, and certain existing businesses where they expand in English Investment Zone tax sites.
Councils hosting Investment Zones will receive 100% of the business rates growth in designated sites above an agreed baseline for 25 years.
• Enhanced Capital Allowance – 100% first year allowance for companies’ qualifying
expenditure on plant and machinery assets for use in tax sites.

• Enhanced Structures and Buildings Allowance – accelerated relief to allow businesses to reduce their taxable profits by 20% of the cost of qualifying non-residential investment per year, relieving 100% of their cost of investment over five years.

• Employer National Insurance contributions relief – zero-rate Employer NICs on salaries of any
new employee working in the tax site for at least 60% of their time, on earnings up to £50,270 per year, with Employer NICs being charged at the usual rate above this level.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax – a full SDLT relief for land and buildings bought for use or development for commercial purposes, and for purchases of land or buildings for new residential development.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will shortly set out more detail on the planning offer. This will include detail on the level of deregulation and the streamlined mechanism for
securing planning permission.
The government will deliver Investment Zones in partnership with Upper Tier Local Authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities in England, who will work in partnership with their relevant districts and/ or constituent councils. All Investment Zone agreements will contain tax and development sites. Areas will be responsible for putting forward sites and demonstrating their potential impact on economic
growth, including by bringing more land forward and accelerating development.
Investment Zones will only be chosen following a rapid Expression of Interest process open to everyone, and after local consent is confirmed.
However, examples of illustrative sites that may have the potential to accelerate growth and deliver housing in the way the Investment Zone programme envisages can be
found in Annex A.
The government is in early discussions with 38 Mayoral Combined Authorities and Upper Tier Local Authorities who have already expressed an initial interest in having a clearly designated, specific site
within their locality. A full list of these 38 authorities is available in Annex A.
The government will deliver Investment Zones in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and intends to work in partnership with the devolved administrations and local partners to achieve this. The
government will legislate for powers to create tax and development sites in Investment Zones where powers are reserved.
The government remains committed to the progress of the Freeports programme. The government will work with local partners involved in current and prospective Freeports to consider whether and how the
Investment Zones offer can help to support their objectives, as part of the wider process for identifying Investment Zones. This will ensure that both programmes complement one another.
Annex A Designate Areas for Investment Zones
A Investment Zones –
interested areas
A.1 Investment Zones will only be chosen following a rapid expression of interest process open
to everyone and after local consent is confirmed. Examples of illustrative sites that may have the
potential to accelerate growth and deliver housing in the way the Investment Zone programme
envisages include:
- Blackpool Airport
- Blackpool Town Centre
- Langarth Garden Village, Cornwall
- Newquay Airport, Cornwall
- Falmouth Docks, Cornwall
- Ellesmere Port Industrial Area, Cheshire West & Chester
- HS2 Interchange, Solihull
- the site of a proposed battery Gigafactory at Coventry Airport
- sites in the Black Country
- sites in Barrow-in-Furness
- Workington and the Energy Coast, Cumbria
- sites near Weymouth, Dorset
- the proposed Mayoral Development Corporation site in Hartlepool
- the proposed Mayoral Development Corporation site in Middlesbrough
- Teesside International Airport
- Ebbsfleet Central
- the River Hull corridor
- Charnwood Campus in Leicestershire
- Plymouth City Centre and Waterfront
- Ceramic Valley in Stoke-on-Trent
- Gravity, Somerset
- Riverside, Sunderland
- the Northern Spire, Sunderland
- the International Advanced Manufacturing Park, Sunderland
A.2 The government is in early discussions with the following 38 Authorities on establishing an
Investment Zone in their area: - Blackpool Council
- Bedford Borough Counci
- Central Bedfordshire Council
- Cheshire West and Chester Council
- Cornwall Council
- Cumbria County Council
- Derbyshire County Council
- Dorset Council
- East Riding of Yorkshire Council
- Essex County Council
- Greater London Authority
- Gloucestershire County Council
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
- Hull City Council
- Kent County Council
- Lancashire County Council
- Leicestershire County Council
- Liverpool City Region
- North East Lincolnshire Council
- North Lincolnshire Council
- Norfolk County Council
- North of Tyne Combined Authority
- North Yorkshire County Council
- Nottinghamshire County Council
- Plymouth City Council
- Somerset County Council
- Southampton City Council
- Southend-on-Sea City Council
- Staffordshire County Council
- Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- Suffolk County Council
- Sunderland City Council
- South Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Tees Valley Combined Authority
- Warwickshire County Council
- West of England Combined Authority
- West Midlands Combined Authority
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority

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