'Businesses need more support to survive and thrive': Lush Head of Retail issues open letter to Chancellor

Kasey Swithenbank, Head of Retail UK&I at Lush, has issued an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, urging the Government to "put business at the heart of their thinking".

Swithenbank begins the open letter by acknowledging that balancing the country’s finances whilst striving for growth and improving public services is "by no means an easy task".

Posting on LinkedIn, addressing both Starmer and Reeves, she says: "You inherited a broken system and repairing that system is going to take an awful lot of money. Money we don’t have and has to be generated from somewhere."

However, Swithenbank swiftly moves on to emphasise the challenges businesses are facing right now, following increased tax burdens as a result of the Autumn Budget.

"Retail is the backbone of our communities, from major cities to small towns and thus our economy. As an industry, we’re the largest private employer but it’s becoming harder than ever to run a shop on our high streets," the letter continues.

"The cost of doing business keeps rising and while we all understand the need to balance the books, businesses need more support to survive and thrive. If we want to keep our high streets full of life, we need practical, impactful steps that are going to support businesses day in, day out which in turn will increase footfall and sales, create more jobs and consequently help support the growth of our economy."

In addition to highlighting the impact and importance of business on the UK economy, Swithenbank outlines several key areas that she believes the Government should prioritise.

Within the open letter, Swithenbank urges that businesses need "real relief" in order to stop the cycle of shop closures and job losses as costs climb to an "all-time high".

She also notes that brands and retailers want to pay fairly, but the lack of proper business support makes this "financially unsustainable", whilst highlighting the need for affordable childcare and better parental leave.

Other suggestions include revamping high streets, better promotion of UK cities, stronger transport links and investment in hospitality and retail experiences to bring more tourists to the UK, and lifting restrictions on opening hours.

"Retail isn’t just about transactions, it’s about people, communities, and experiences. If we want high streets to have a future, businesses need a government that truly backs them. We’re ready to work with you to make this happen and I, like many retail leaders, would welcome the chance to discuss this further," the open letter finished.

Swithenbank's remarks add to a slew of warnings from other retailers facing higher taxes and employment costs.

The boss of Marks & Spencer previously warned that the Government’s Budget policies could shrink the UK’s retail sector, squeeze jobs and slow wage growth.

Meanwhile, NEXT cautioned over slowing sales growth in 2025 and said it would need to hike prices due to the impact of recent Budget measures.

Taking effect this month, the measures include a higher rate and lower threshold on employer's National Insurance (NI) contributions, an increase in the national minimum wage, and an increase in the national living wage, all of which are leaving employers more than usually squeezed.

The Government said extra revenues raised from higher taxes on businesses will help fill a gap in the UK’s public finances and be plugged into things like infrastructure and the public sector.

Lush Chief Digital Officer Jack Constantine also previously accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of "asset stripping" businesses following the Government’s changes to inheritance tax.

The son of co-founders Mark and Mo Constantines said that the Government was "sucking" profits out from businesses and driving them away from being entrepreneurially run.