Suits us Sir! Relief for boutique owner

Boutique owner Adrian Holdsworth said he wants a ‘level playing field’ ADRIAN Holdsworth, 57, has run his men’s boutique, Volpe, for nearly 20 years.

He has weathered all kinds of economic ups and downs, but he said that the recent onslaught of soaring high street rates and rents has been among the worst. But Mr Holdsworth, who set up his shop in 1999, now hopes for a more profitable retail sector for small independent owners and a better shopping experience for consumers. “I wanted a more level playing field between us and the online retailers, which don’t bear the same burden of costs and I think he [Mr Hammond] has delivered that,” he said.

“I’m very grateful for the help and I imagine most independent retailers will feel the same.”

Volpe, in Pimlico, central London, sits alongside several small independents including two restaurants, an art gallery, a hairdresser’s salon and an estate agent, all of whom have struggled in recent years.

Mr Holdsworth said: “Giants like Amazon who don’t have the extra costs of a high street presence have an unfair advantage.

“Our towns and cities would be much less colourful and convenient places without shops and businesses like mine.

“Councils and the Government should support us and I think this Budget goes some way to doing that.”

Mr Holdsworth will benefit from a reduction in rates offered to all retailers in England with a rateable value of £51,000 or less.

It cuts business rate bills by a third and could see an annual saving of up to £8,000 for up to 90 per cent of independent shops.