Stuart Law, CEO at Assetz Capital

“This was a budget for housebuilders and homebuyers. While we didn’t see a significant strategic shift from the government in this area, there were a number of tactical announcements which should at least result in a material improvement to the current situation.

“The £1 billion of funding from the British Business Bank for small housebuilders is very welcome and goes hand-in-hand with our own lending efforts at Assetz Capital. We want to see these companies better compete with large national housebuilders, and this funding will support that.

“We are very pleased to see the announcement of £8.5 million to empower local neighbourhood groups to create affordable housing for those in the community. This focus on housing needs at a local level is encouraging to see, and echoes many initiatives we’ve called for in the past.

“We also support the retrospective stamp duty relief for shared ownership buyers, while the £500 million boost to the Housing Infrastructure Fund to unlock a further 650,000 homes is another welcome measure.

“All in all, this budget won’t solve the housing crisis but it is certainly moving us in the right direction.”