We welcome the Chancellor’s ambition to help British businesses scale, but there is still a need resolve the critical liquidity shortages in the UK’s equity markets.
“Growing companies on UK public markets depend on deep, continuous liquidity to scale, invest, and create jobs. We welcome the Chancellor’s ambition to support British enterprise, including the introduction of Founders Relief to help high-growth founders reinvest, and the capital boost for the British Business Bank.
“However, growth companies across AIM, Aquis, and the Main Market face a sustained and chronic liquidity crunch that intent alone cannot solve. These businesses require the same level of support. To keep Britain’s most ambitious scale-ups listed in London, we need clear and decisive fiscal policy that continually lowers the cost of capital and rewards investors who back domestic public markets.
“We look forward to working with the government to turn today’s growth ambitions into vibrant market liquidity and supporting Britain’s small and mid-cap growth ecosystem.”
Sangita Shah
Interim CEO & Chair
At a Glance: Autumn Budget 2026
On the NWF and BBB Expansion
We welcome the incremental £20.4 billion commitment to the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank, including the pledge of £1.4 billion in new BBB equity investment. We look forward to seeing this capital injected into quoted businesses and, as part of our Banking on Britain campaign, working with the government and the BBB to ensure investment is channelled directly into sub-£100 million market cap companies.
On Pension Investment
The QCA welcomes the Chancellor’s commitment to accelerate pension fund investment into UK growth businesses, helping companies scale while supporting long-term returns for pension savers. Smaller quoted companies, including those on AIM and Aquis, must remain a clearly defined part of this effort, offering opportunities to back innovation, create jobs and drive growth across the UK. Ultimately, success will be measured by how effectively these commitments translate into capital reaching these businesses.
On the ISA Allowance
We note the preservation of existing ISA limits; however, relying on cash defaults continues to deprive public growth markets of vital investment. We would still urge the government to consider British businesses through a British ISA and to that end, we welcome the government’s commitment to explore new incentives for first-time Stocks & Shares ISA investors. We also encourage the Treasury to design these mechanisms in a way that makes investment in British businesses an easy and visible choice.
On Stamp Duty and SDRT
The QCA welcomes the Government’s recognition of the potential economic benefits of cutting stamp duty on shares. Reducing the cost of investing in UK equities would strengthen the competitiveness of our public markets and help attract capital to British businesses. We encourage the Government to build on this recognition with a clear timetable for reform, taking account of the longer-term benefits to investment and growth alongside the immediate fiscal implications.
On Employee Share Schemes
EMI Simplification
The QCA welcomes further simplification of the EMI scheme. Making employee share schemes easier to offer and participate in will help growth companies attract and retain staff, broaden employee ownership and give more people a meaningful stake in the businesses they help to build.
EMI2
The QCA welcomes the announcement of EMI2 (formerly CSOP), doubling the value of tax-advantaged share options employees can hold from £60,000 to £120,000. This will enable more employees to share in the growth they help create in a tax-efficient way. It will also support recruitment and retention, align employees’ interests with long-term shareholder value and help smaller quoted companies compete for talent both domestically and internationally.
