Author: Glenn

Keeping an eye on competitors offers crucial advantages, especially in a dynamic market. Here’s why it pays off:

Improving Market Positioning
By observing competitor pricing, branding, and marketing strategies, you can position yourself better in the market. Adapting your approach based on competitors' moves allows you to highlight your unique strengths, stand out, or fill market needs they might overlook.

Sparking Innovation
Competitors often inspire new ideas. Observing their innovations can lead to enhancements for your own products or services. This isn’t about copying; it’s about learning from what’s working in your field and adapting those ideas to fit your brand and customer needs.

Benchmarking Performance
Tracking competitor performance can establish benchmarks for your own success. By comparing aspects like customer satisfaction or market share, you can identify areas where you need improvement or areas where you already excel.

Identifying Market Gaps
Studying competitors’ services and customer feedback can reveal gaps—opportunities for you to step in with solutions or offerings that meet overlooked needs. This is a great way to differentiate your brand and address unmet demands.

Spotting Industry Trends Early
Competitors often indicate broader industry trends. Tracking their shifts helps you prepare for changes in regulations, customer preferences, or new technologies. Getting a head start on trends ensures you are proactive rather than reactive.

Managing Competitive Threats
Regularly monitoring competitors can alert you to potential threats. If a competitor is targeting your customer base or launching a similar product, you can plan countermeasures, ensuring you’re not caught off guard by sudden shifts.

Understanding Customer Preferences
Reviewing competitor feedback and testimonials offers insights into customer priorities and expectations. Knowing what clients value can inform your service improvements, helping you attract and retain customers who may feel underserved elsewhere.

Boosting SEO and Content Strategy
Competitor analysis, especially online, can refine your digital presence. Observing their SEO tactics or popular content can inspire similar strategies that boost your own web traffic and customer engagement.

Opportunities for Collaboration
Competitor analysis isn’t always about rivalry; sometimes, it reveals partnership potential. If a competitor has a complementary service, a collaboration might benefit both businesses, offering customers a more comprehensive experience.

Fostering Continuous Improvement
Monitoring competitors encourages you to maintain a proactive improvement mindset. When you’re aware of their advancements, it keeps you from becoming complacent, promoting ongoing growth and evolution in your own business.

In essence, competitor monitoring is about staying informed, proactive, and adaptive. By observing what works (or doesn’t) for others, you can make smarter strategic decisions, find opportunities, and stay competitive.

As part of the Autumn Budget measures the Chancellor announced that the duty rates on tobacco products were increased by 2% above the rate of inflation (based on RPI) effective from 6pm on 30 October 2024. It was also confirmed that the duty for hand-rolling tobacco was increased by an additional 10%, to 12% above RPI inflation at the same time to narrow the gap between hand-rolling tobacco and cigarette duty rates.

The Chancellor also announced that effective from 1 February 2025, the government will increase the Alcohol Duty rates that apply to all non-draught products in line with Retail Price Index inflation. In happier news, it was announced that the government will reduce all Alcohol Duty rates for draught products by 1.7% in cash terms (or 5.1% if compared to the baseline expectation that rates would be increased with the Retail Price Index). The reduction to duty rates on draught products will result in the average alcoholic strength pint (4.58% alcohol by volume) paying 1 pence less in duty.

It was further announced that the government will introduce a new duty  at a flat rate of 22p/ml on vaping products from October 2026. This will be accompanied by a further one-off increase in tobacco duty to maintain financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking.

In the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor had been widely expected to increase fuel duty rates. However, in a surprise announcement she extended the fuel duty cut for a further 12 months to help support households and businesses. A tax cut estimated to be worth £3 billion.

The government was facing considerable pressure from consumer and business groups to try and alleviate the pain of high fuel prices. This means that the temporary cut in the rates of fuel duty introduced at Spring Statement in March 2022, and extended multiple times is to be extended for a further 12 months until 22 March 2026.

The assumed inflation increases in fuel duty will not now take place. This will maintain fuel duty rates at current levels for another year and represents a reduction of around 7p per litre for main petrol and diesel rates in comparison to previous plans.

A number of changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) were announced as part of the Budget measures. We have covered each of the main measures below. It should be noted that these changes are not coming into effect until April 2026 at the earliest.

IHT reliefs

Changes were announced to IHT Business Relief and IHT Agricultural Property Relief. Currently, these reliefs can offer a significant tax benefit for estates with qualifying business and agricultural assets. Under these reliefs, a benefit of either 50% or 100% relief is available from IHT with no cap.

The Chancellor announced that from April 2026, qualifying estates with agricultural or business assets will only be able to claim 100% tax relief on the first £1 million of assets. Any value over £1 million will see tax relief restricted to 50%. A consultation is expected to be published next year with further details of the intended changes.

Inherited pensions

Most undrawn private pensions are currently excluded from IHT on death. It has been announced that this will change from 6 April 2027 when the value of unused pension funds and death benefits payable will be included in IHT calculations.

This effectively means that the value of the pension pot will be added to other assets to be included in the value of a person’s estate and therefore potentially chargeable to IHT. A consultation on the proposed changes has been launched.

As part of these changes, pension scheme administrators will become liable for reporting and paying any IHT due on unused pension funds and death benefits.

IHT nil-rate bands

The IHT nil-rate bands have been frozen for a number of years and had been set to remain at current levels until 5 April 2028. The Chancellor announced that the government will extend this freeze for another 2 years until 5 April 2030.

This means that:

• the nil-rate band will continue at £325,000
• residence nil-rate band will continue at £175,000
• residence nil-rate band taper will continue to start at £2 million.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves announced significant increases to the Minimum Wage rates on the eve of the Budget. The Chancellor confirmed that the government has accepted in full the proposals of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) for increasing minimum wage rates from 1 April 2025. The LPC’s advisory remit was overhauled by ministers in July to consider the cost of living.

The National Living Wage (NLW) rate will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 on 1 April 2025 and represents an increase of 77p or 6.7%. The NLW is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 21 or over. The increase represents a pay rise of over £1,400 a year for someone working full-time and earning the NLW.

It was also announced that the National Minimum Wage (for 18-20 year olds) will increase from £8.60 to £10.00 an hour. This is largest increase ever in the NMW (an impressive 16.3% increase) that will see younger workers having their pay boosted by up to £2,500 next year. This increase is part of a move to narrow the gap in wage rates for 18-20 years olds and the NLW and ultimately create a single adult wage rate for all those aged 18 and over.

The NMW rates for 16 to 17 years old will increase from £6.40 to £7.55 – an increase of £1.15 or 18% per hour – from next April. The Apprentice Rate will mirror this increase in line with earlier recommendations by the LPC.