Almost £1.5bn wiped off retailers and pubs as jobs tax raid looms

More than £1.4bn has been wiped off some of Britain’s biggest high street employers today amid concerns about the impact of tax rises in Rachel Reeves’s Budget.

Shares in Greggs suffered their sharpest drop in more than a year while Marks & Spencer fell at the steepest pace since August amid the looming impact of the increase to employers National Insurance contributions (Nics) and the minimum wage.

Pub group Mitchells & Butler fell 7.5pc while JD Sports and Sainsbury’s dropped more than 2pc. Frasers, another major employer, was down 1.6pc.

More than £266.4m has been wiped off Primark-owner Associated British Foods, while B&M its market valuation fall by £65.2m and Burberry by £33.9m.

It comes after shares in Greggs fell as much as 7.6pc after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from “hold” to “sell” because of its “material exposure” to the impact of the Chancellor’s measures.

Companies will have to pay an increased Nics rate of 15pc after Ms Reeves raised the tax on employers from 13.8pc.

The Chancellor also lowered the threshold from when employers start paying from £9,100 to £5,000.

Greggs employs 30,000 staff and has a relatively low operating margin of less than 10pc, meaning it has less room in its finances to swallow the increase in costs.

Deutsche Bank said the Budget would add £45m of costs to the bakery group this financial year, followed by £50m in its finances for 2026.

This would hit Greggs pre-tax profits this year by 23pc, it said.

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