Alex Depledge, the founder of Hassle.com and Resi and the UK Treasury's first Entrepreneurship Adviser, is stepping down. She leaves the role on Thursday, 29 October, the day after Chancellor John Healey delivers his Budget, and says the government treats founders and innovation as "a sideshow". Her exit comes as founders wait to hear what happens to the tax relief they get when they sell a business.
Cover photo: Eduard Pretsi on Unsplash.
What happened
Depledge announced her departure in an interview with The Times, published on Saturday, 24 October, and reported the same day by Business Matters. Then-chancellor Rachel Reeves appointed her in June 2025 as the Treasury's first-ever Entrepreneurship Adviser, according to the government's appointment announcement. When Reeves left her post in July 2026, Depledge was unsure whether she still had a job, until Healey asked her to stay. The government page records her reappointment on 24 August 2026.
She now leaves after two Budgets under two chancellors. The second is on Wednesday, 28 October, the date the Chancellor confirmed in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee.
Her main criticisms, as quoted by Business Matters:
- Founders on the margins: "Keeping scale-ups on the fringes underestimates the contribution of our greatest companies, and we need to support and develop them on British shores at all costs. We treat them as a bit of a sideshow."
- Where the money goes: she said the government directs taxpayer money towards legacy industries. "Where's the real economy? They think it's over here with steel, cars and hard hats, that this is the 'main event'. And my argument has always been: no, scale-ups are the main event."
- Access: under Reeves she had fortnightly meetings with the chancellor. Of Healey, she said: "I've had barely any face time with him." She said she had to "relitigate all the arguments I had already won" with Healey and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
- Capital: "There's £3trn of capital sitting there that is not working for our pensioners and it's not working for our high-growth companies."
"Entrepreneurship can't be seen as a good news bonus on the margins of economic policy." — Alex Depledge, as quoted by Business Matters, 24 October 2026
Her main reason for leaving, she said, is that "at my very core, I'm an entrepreneur", and she misses "the pace and chaos of running a business". Depledge, 45, built Hassle.com, a marketplace for cleaners that was sold to a German rival (now Helpling) for €32 million, and the property technology company Resi.
Why it matters for women founders
Depledge was the first entrepreneur to hold the role, as she pointed out when she was appointed. She said then that the UK has over 34,000 scale-ups, just 0.6% of small and medium-sized businesses, which generate £1.4 trillion in turnover, 55% of all SME revenues.
Women still get a sliver of that growth money. All-female founder teams received 6.7% of UK equity deals and 1.7% of the money invested in 2025, according to the British Business Bank's Small Business Equity Tracker, cited in the Investing in Women Code annual report. Last week the bank launched grants for diversity-focused angel groups, which we covered in UK pays angel groups to bring in more women investors.
The founders' tax question is not only a men's issue either. The letter urging Healey to protect Business Asset Disposal Relief was organised by Shalini Khemka, founder of the business network E2E, and Lord (Howard) Leigh of Cavendish, and its signatories include Lyndsey Simpson, founder of 55/Redefined, Business Matters reports. The letter also asks for tax breaks for founders who reinvest the proceeds of a sale in other British businesses.
What to watch in the Budget on 28 October
Status: Debated. None of the measures below has been announced. This is what founders are asking for or what is already on record.
- Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR): the relief that lowers Capital Gains Tax when you sell all or part of your business. The rate has already risen from 10% to 14% and then to 18% for sales from 6 April 2026, and you can claim it on up to £1 million of gains over your lifetime, according to GOV.UK. Healey has ruled out a rise in Capital Gains Tax itself, Business Matters reports; there is no clarity yet on BADR.
- Share options (EMI): Depledge declined to name the measures she proposed for this Budget, but said they build on last year's extension of the Enterprise Management Incentive scheme, which helps young companies give staff share options. She suggested there could be "an incentive for founders themselves" this time.
- Pension money for growth companies: her £3 trillion argument. Any change here would reach founders through the funds that invest in them.
How the UK compares with other European countries on tax relief when a founder sells a business:
Ireland's rate and limits are from the Irish Revenue Commissioners, Germany's from the Income Tax Act (EStG), and France's from the 2025 Finance Act, article 70 II. The UK relief has no age condition, unlike the German and French ones, but its rate is now well above Ireland's 10%.
Debt finance is reaching women outside the capitals
While the Treasury argument is about scale-ups and exits, most women founders start with much smaller sums. The British Business Bank's Start Up Loans programme lends £500 to £25,000 per person, with 12 months of free mentoring. It has lent £100 million to women in London through 10,853 loans, and 48% of those loans went to entrepreneurs from ethnic minority groups, according to Start Up Loans. In Wales, the programme has now lent £20,050,001 to 2,081 female entrepreneurs since 2012, figures from the bank reported on 25 October by The Leader show.
In 2025, Wrexham and Flintshire each recorded more Start Up Loans to women than Cardiff. "The data shows that female entrepreneurship is not concentrated to Wales' largest cities," said Jess Phillips-Harris, the bank's Director for Wales.
What this means for you
- If you plan to sell your company in the next few years, check whether you qualify for BADR now. For at least 2 years before the sale, you must have owned the business or, for company shares, held at least 5% and worked for the company. Watch the Budget on 28 October for any change to the 18% rate or the £1 million limit.
- If you are dividing equity with co-founders, the tax treatment of your future exit depends on the shares you hold today. Our guides on negotiating equity as a female co-founder and setting up a founder vesting schedule show how to get it on paper early.
- If you hire, watch share options. A wider EMI scheme would make it cheaper to pay early staff partly in equity, which matters most to bootstrapped founders who cannot match big-company salaries.
- If you are just starting, a Start Up Loan of up to £25,000 with a mentor is often easier to get than equity. If you are leaving a corporate job, our 30-day plan to turn bank skills into your own business walks through the first steps, and our list of grants and funding for female entrepreneurs covers non-dilutive options in the UK and Europe.
- Follow the policy fight. EU ministers asked governments to tackle gender bias in investment this month, which we covered in EU ministers back women-led start-ups.
FAQ
Who is Alex Depledge?
A British entrepreneur who built Hassle.com, a marketplace for cleaners now part of Helpling, and the property technology company Resi. In June 2025 she became the first Entrepreneurship Adviser to the UK Treasury.
When does she leave the Treasury?
On Thursday, 29 October 2026, the day after Chancellor John Healey's Budget on 28 October.
Why is she leaving?
She says the government treats founders and scale-ups as "a sideshow" and directs money to legacy industries, and that she had little access to Healey. She also says that "at my very core, I'm an entrepreneur" and misses running a business.
What is Business Asset Disposal Relief?
A UK relief that lowers Capital Gains Tax when you sell all or part of your business. The rate is 18% for sales from 6 April 2026, up from 10% before April 2025, on up to £1 million of gains over your lifetime.
Will the Budget change taxes for founders?
Nothing is confirmed before 28 October. Healey has ruled out a rise in Capital Gains Tax, but a group of entrepreneurs has written to him asking him to protect Business Asset Disposal Relief.
How much have Start Up Loans lent to women?
£100 million to women in London through 10,853 loans, and £20,050,001 to 2,081 women in Wales since 2012, according to the British Business Bank.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
