LONDON, Dec. 9 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

* Comes as the Budget unlocks billions for innovative firms and delivers the biggest shake-up of entrepreneur tax incentives in a generation. * Alex Depledge to stay on as UK's first Entrepreneurship Adviser, supercharging Chancellor's reforms to support scale-ups and deliver the modern Industrial Strategy's ambition to make Britain one of the best places in world to do business.

The Chancellor welcomed the UK's top entrepreneurs to No10 Downing Street last night (8December), celebrating a bold new plan to back homegrown founders andcontinue makingBritainone of thebest placesin the world to scale a businessaspart of the government'smodern Industrial Strategy.

Founders,investorsand innovators from across the UK - includingmeal-in-a-bottle firm Huel,savings appMoneyboxandcrime-busting tech companyQuantexa-heard the Chancellor's message loud and clear: economic growth is the government's number one mission, and Britain's entrepreneurs will be central to delivering it.

Last night's reception follows the Budget, which delivered the most ambitious package for scale-ups in more than a decade: sweeping reforms to tax incentives so firms can attract world-class talent and investment, billions in long-term backing for science and technology firms,andchanges to public procurement so taxpayer money is used to drive innovation.

That builds on efforts to cut burdensome rules and regulation holding back investmentand innovation, with the Chancellor setting out how the government will deliver a 25% cut in theadministrative cost of regulation over this Parliament worth £6 billion a year to businesses.

The Chancellor also confirmed that Alex Depledge MBE will continue as her Entrepreneurship Adviseruntil summer2026, driving forward reforms to remove the barriers scale-ups face -from accessing finance to navigating complex regulation- sostrategically important companies can realise their potential.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said:

This government backs our entrepreneurs.That'swhywe'reoverhauling the rulebook - modernising tax incentives, unlocking billions in investment and making it easier for founders to hire, build and grow. Because when British businesses thrive, so does our economy.

Alex Depledge MBE said:

High-growthcompaniespower national growth - if we're serious about expanding the economy, this is the lever to pull. Wedon'tneedhandouts; we need a system that backs the people willing to take risks.

This Budget is a real step-change, and I'm genuinely excited to keep working with the Chancellor to clear the obstacles that stop scale-ups from reaching their full potential.

The government is doubling eligibility for key schemes such as the Enterprise ManagementIncentiveandraising investment limits under the Enterprise InvestmentScheme.EMIhasn'tbeen updated in 15 years - and these changes will help high-growth firms reward teams, attract world-classtalentandpullin more early-stage capital, boosting Britain's competitiveness.

TomLeathes, CEO and Co-Founder of Motorway.com, said:

The changes to the EMI scheme will makea huge difference. When Motorway hit 250 employees, we suddenlycouldn'toffer new joiners the same equity opportunity as our early team. These reforms fix that. Extendingoptionlifespans to 15 years and doubling the employee cap gives UK scale-ups far more firepower to compete for world-class talent much longer into the journey.

People who join scaling companies take a bet - and when it works, they should share in what they helped build. This is exactly the kind of policy that helps British companies scale and succeed for the long term.

Joshua Western, CEO and Co-Founder of Space Forge, said:

As a European advanced materials company, focused on providing a sovereign, secure and sustainable supply of semiconductor materials to the continent, Space Forge is pleased to be involved with boosting British entrepreneurship.

It is more important than ever to support entrepreneurship to deliver capability andgrowthand Space Forge is proud to be a part of that story across the European continent. The entrepreneurship budget announcements by the Chancellor arean important stepin recognising the growth engine that start-ups are for the economy.

Alongside this, the government has launchedanin-depthconversation with founders and investorsabout howthe tax system supports entrepreneurs, ensuring it rewards people who take risks, reinvest in theirbusinessesand create jobs.This work sits alongside the Entrepreneurship Prospectus, setting out a long-term plan to make the UK the easiest place to start and scale a business.

A £7 billion injection into UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) will help the UK's most promising companies push breakthroughs from lab to market, while targeted programmes ensure high-growth firms can access the scale-up capital they need without leaving the UK.

A new £130 million Growth Catalyst from Innovate UK will deliver grants and hands-on support tocutting-edgescience and tech firms.A previousversion of this programme turned £156m of grants into £1.55bn of follow-on investment - a tenfold return.

Meanwhile,the British Business Banks will invest £5 billion in growing companies,crowding in billions more private capital and supporting firms through the risky "Valley of Death" stage so they can scale,hireand export from British soil.

More information

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* Alex Depledge will work part time and be compensated on a pro-rata basis.The terms of herreappointment can be foundhere: Terms of Reference: Alex Depledge MBE (PDF, 22.4 KB, 1 page)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.