A construction boss has welcomed commitments to capital works contained in the Budget but says swingeing tax rises will hit his bottom line.

Simon Girling - a director at SEH French in Ipswich - said businesses were braced for a painful Budget - and it was. He now expects the announcements made to add about 1.2% to 1.5% to his cost base.

This is from a combination of a lowering of the employers' National Insurance (NI) threshold from £9,100 to £4,000 per worker, a rise in employers' NI contributions from 13.8% to 15% and from putting up wages to reflect the rise in the Minimum Wage from £11.44 an hour to £12.21 next year.

Although construction is a relatively well-paid industry, the firm - which employs about 50 staff - will need to maintain wage differentials as those at the bottom see a rise, he said.

He felt the chancellor Rachel Reeves' first Budget started off well - but there was a mighty sting in the tail.

"It's started off very positive but then it was give with one hand and take with the other," he said. 

The chancellor announced a huge rise in taxes - £40bn - £25bn of which will come from the NI increases for employers.

The minimum wage rise was "fantastic" - but came at a cost, said Mr Girling. "We as an organisation and an industry pay above the minimum wage but what that will do is have a sliding affect on the people above that," he said.

However, plans to spend billions of pounds on public building projects across the NHS, schools and housing - including social housing was very welcome, he said.

His business specialises in public buildings so the announcement opens up many possibilities for new work, he said.

But the added cost burden is a worry, he admitted. "We are a fragile industry. The margins are notoriously low."

Over the last 18 months a number of construction businesses had gone to the wall - including construction giant ISG, he said.

"It's a high risk industry and it's a case they have been struggling for a number of years," he explained. "We work in a 2 or 3% (margin) industry."

"They have been putting all these potential investments in but I'm just concerned these increased costs will stifle the growth that's there."