Reeves’ Budget tax increases stalled the growth of Monsoon owners

Friday 28 November 2025 13.34

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The owners of Monsoon and Accessorize have warned tax increases introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves will force them to stop investing in their growth.

Adena Brands, owned by Peter Simon, is “focusing on reducing its cost base rather than investing in growth” until it sees signs of strengthening consumer demand.

The company added that was “something we do not anticipate next year given the possible impact of tax increases.”

The owner of Monsoon and Accessorize also said it experienced “continued weak consumer spending and the impact of rising costs” in the current financial year which started in September.

However, the company said that despite these factors, it “saw positive results from investments made last year and we achieved increased sales and profitability as planned.”

Reeves budget ‘bad timing’

The update has been included in the company’s latest financial report which was published at Companies House today and signed off by the board of directors on Wednesday.

The company said the timing of this year’s Budget, presented by Rachel Reeves on Thursday this week, was “terrible timing for all consumer businesses”.

He added that widespread messaging in the run-up to the Budget regarding broad tax increases had “undermined consumer demand as consumers prioritized saving over spending in anticipation of a tough Budget”.

During its last financial year, the Monsoon and Accessorize owner said the main challenge was due to inflation being driven by ongoing minimum wage increases “and the ripple effect of those increases impacting employee salaries”.

It also said the impact of additional National Insurance tax imposed on wages during the period and increases in business rates were also factors.

But despite these challenges, the group returned to the black with pre-tax profits of £957,000, according to accounts filed with Companies House.

The profit came after the owner of Monsoon and Accessorize suffered a pre-tax loss of £7.5 million in the previous year.

In the 12 months to 30 August 2025, the company’s turnover also increased from £204.6m to £212.1m.