Embrace AI, back the North, and give confidence to businesses: what creatives want from the Budget
With the Budget due on 26 November, creative, digital, and tech leaders want one thing: confidence to invest.
Ministers have promised to keep taxes, inflation, and rates as low as possible, but economists expect some tax rises or spending restraint to meet fiscal rules. Recent National Insurance changes already lifted employment costs, squeezing agency margins and client budgets.
The sector is growing - profits aren't
Top digital agencies posted a 14% collective increase in turnover year-on-year, yet profitability fell 18%. Headcount rose 3% in the last year and about 30% over a decade, with nearly 4,000 people across the top 50 agencies.
The capacity to grow is there. Leaders want certainty to commit to the next wave of hiring, AI adoption, and production investment.
What leaders are asking for
Confidence and clear signals. Rick Guttridge, Managing Director at Smoking Gun, said: "Ahead of the budget we're looking for rhetoric and messaging to bolster business confidence. The sector at large is at the mercy of the confidence of the client C suites and fiscal governors. When they get cold feet it's agencies that feel the frosty touch. The support for JLR and its supply chain is positive for the region and hopefully more can be done with positive investment news confirmed to spread some warm glow before the cold nights set in."
Stability over shocks. Rob Shaw, CEO at HUB, added: "We are all hotly anticipating the next set of budget announcements but after the major shifts in National Insurance at the beginning of this year I think most business owners have a fair degree of trepidation. For agencies the impact of major budget changes are twofold with our own companies impacted - but also our clients are impacted which influences investment decisions and growth ambitions which obviously can have a knock-on effect on marketing budgets. My hope… is a sensible approach that recognises that UK industry has already helped the economy significantly after the last budget and now needs to focus on growth… A further period of uncertainty or minimal economic growth helps no one."
Go faster on AI and infrastructure. Denise Harris, COO at Sum Vivas, said: "If the UK wants to lead globally in AI, we need the digital roads and railways to run it on - connectivity, infrastructure, and access for all regions, not just London." She argues that stronger SEIS/EIS incentives could be "the difference between an AI company scaling in the UK or relocating overseas." Her warning: "AI moves in weeks; government moves in years and that gap could cost the UK its competitive edge."
Back Northern production. Alex Roberts, of independent production company The Chase Films, said: "Anything that supports both the north and creative industries is always welcome. Filmmakers need as much support as possible and that investment has consistently been shown to reap rewards… There is everything already in Manchester - talented crews, producers, facilities, studios, cast and locations. Invest in that and it'll only grow."
Practical moves for creative leaders now
- Run scenarios for NI, VAT, and corporation tax changes. Tighten cash flow and stress-test pricing and retainers.
- Reframe spend with clients as growth investment. Share ROI models and delivery plans to reduce hesitation.
- Boost output with AI to protect margins without bloating headcount. Start with post-production, editing, media ops, reporting, and ideation. If your team needs skills, explore options here: Latest AI courses.
- Make financing easier to say yes to. Prepare investor packs and point to SEIS/EIS venture capital schemes where relevant.
- Champion regional investment. Partner with local authorities, universities, and studios to surface shovel-ready projects. Track fiscal updates via the OBR's guide to fiscal rules.
- Keep teams lean and flexible. Blend core staff with trusted freelancers; prioritise multi-skilled hires.
What to watch in the Budget
- Any changes to National Insurance, VAT thresholds, or R&D relief that hit agency operations and client spend.
- Targeted regional funding for creative clusters in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, and Newcastle.
- Connectivity and compute commitments that lower the cost of AI production: data centres, fibre, 5G.
- Updates to SEIS/EIS that improve limits or relief for early-stage creative-tech.
The brief from creative, digital, and tech leaders is clear: give businesses confidence, move faster on AI infrastructure, and visibly back the North. Do that, and the industry will do the rest.
