NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL

Coronavirus means closures, staff cuts, and falling income for UK businesses

ONE

in four businesses in the UK has had to close while the coronavirus outbreak is ongoing.

Of businesses surveyed between March 23 (when the lockdown began) and April 5, 25% said they had temporarily closed or paused trading, while 0.4% have already permanently closed.

The figures come from Business Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Survey (BICS) run by the Office for National Statistics.

It surveyed 17,786 businesses, of which 5,316 (30%) responded, to try to understand the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Of businesses still trading, two in five (38%) said their turnover was substantially lower than normal, with a further 17% saying it was down slightly.

However, for 3% of businesses turnover was higher than normal.

Almost all businesses (99%) attributed their income change to the coronavirus outbreak.

For businesses still trading, 70% of the workforce were still working as normal between March 23 and April 5, with around one in 20 (5%) off sick or in self-isolation because of the coronavirus.

A fifth (21%) of the workforce had been furloughed under the government scheme in the period.

With turnover falling and the country under lockdown, many businesses have reduced staffing levels in the short-term (41%) or cut working hours (29%), although 7% have been recruiting.

For staff still working, 47% are working remotely and 37% are still working at their normal place of work.

Figures covering the fortnight before lockdown (March 9 to March 22) show pubs and restaurants, non-essential shops, and entertainment venues were already the hardest hit by the outbreak, even before the government ordered them to close.

Among small arts, entertainment, and recreation businesses, with fewer than 250 employees, 91% had already seen turnover fall, as did 91% of larger accommodation and food services businesses.

Separate figures from advisory services firm KPMG and the British Retail Consortium show a 12% rise in retail sales in the first three weeks of March, followed by a 27% fall after the government-imposed lockdown.

Food, arts and entertainment industries were also the most likely to have already decreased working hours - 57% of those in accommodation and food services and 46% in arts, entertainment, and recreation - or to have temporarily laid off staff, 52% and 39% respectively.

In the two weeks before lockdown, two-fifths of businesses (40%) were confident they had the financial resources to continue operating through the outbreak, although 44% didn’t know yet, and 16% were not confident.

Nearly a third (31%) of accommodation and food businesses were not confident of surviving, and neither were a quarter (27%) of arts, entertainment, and recreation businesses.