The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown have had a “catastrophic” effect on many British businesses - that’s the clear message from our Great Big Business Survey.
BusinessLive launched the national survey last month to find out how businesses were coping during the Covid-19 pandemic and with the restrictions on business and everyday life that followed.
In total almost four-fifths of those polled said the survey had a negative or catastrophic impact on their business.
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Most of the 2,700 businesses polled had either substantially reduced their trading or stopped trading altogether during lockdown. Some 31% of businesses were not confident they would survive the lockdown at all.
A third of those polled said they had no income at all during the crisis. A majority of companies had furloughed staff.
Most businesses said they would find it tough to implement the social distancing measures they would need to keep operating.
We’re revealing the results of the survey today as BusinessLive and sister Reach titles throughout the 海角视频 mark #IAmOpen day to help businesses bounce back after lockdown.
BusinessLive editor Alistair Houghton said: “The pandemic and resulting lockdown have had a massive impact on businesses across the country, as shown clearly in the results of our Great Big Business Survey.
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“Companies have been forced to close or furlough staff, while many say they will find it hard to adapt to working from home.
“But across the country, a majority of businesses were confident they would survive this crisis.
“Today is #IAmOpen day as many firms across the country will be reopening. Small firms are at the heart of our economy - and they need support from national and local government as they get back on their feet.
“They need clear guidance on issues like social distancing, the future of the furlough scheme, and support for the self-employed.
“Here at BusinessLive we’ll keep fighting for Britain’s businesses, and we’ll keep telling their stories as they power our economy ahead. If you’ve got a story to tell, let us know.”
‘Catastrophic’ impact on many businesses
In our survey, 46.4% of respondents said the lockdown had had a catastrophic impact on their business. Some 32.6% said it had had a negative impact, 8.9% said it had made little difference, 6.9% said it had created some opportunities for their business, and 5.2% said they could see positive opportunities from the situation.
Some 42.9% of those polled said their businesses were currently closed ,with 32.9% trading at substantially lower levels than normal, 10.8% trading slightly below normal levels, 8.9% trading as normal, and 4.5% trading at improved levels.
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Some 33.8% of those polled said turnover had fallen by 100%, with another 10% saying it had fallen by 90-99%. Just 11.8% of businesses said their turnover hadn't declined since the lockdown.
The lockdown has also taken its toll on business owners’ mental health. Some 47.3% of those polled said the crisis had had a negative impact on their mental health, with another 19% saying it had had a “major negative impact”.
Furlough and jobs
More than half of those polled had furloughed some employees, with 28.5% having furloughed more than three quarters of their staff.
When asked if they will be bringing furloughed people back into their business before the scheme ends in October, 28.1% said they would bring all staff back, 15.8% said they would bring some back, and 3.7% said they would rotate staff. But 16.1% said it would not be possible to bring back furloughed staff, with 36.4% saying they did not yet know what would happen.
Around a third of businesses had instituted pay cuts for staff, with 10% of respondents saying they had instructed a pay cut of more than 50%.
Working from home, social distancing and the Government response
Most businesses polled said it would be difficult for them to operate social distancing measures over the medium or long term. Some 28.9% of people said it would be extremely difficult for their business, with 34.5% saying it would be somewhat difficult.
More than half of those polled said their business couldn’t operate from home at all. But of those whose staff could work from home, respondents said they had generally adapted well.
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Given the results above, it’s no surprise that 45.4% of our respondents said they would not encourage staff to work from home in the future. But 29.3% said they would consider it.
Some 41.4% of businesses thought the measures introduced by the 海角视频 government to support businesses through Covid had been right. Some 39.2% thought they were too little.
The future
Of those polled, 16.1% said they were not very confident about surviving the lockdown. Some 14.7% were not confident, while 3.9% said their businesses were already closing down.
Looking at sales, 45.4% of those polled said they thought it would take their business more than a year to return to 100% of its pre-coronavirus turnover - while 15.5% said they thought it would never get back to that level.
Who took part?
Most of those who answered the survey were from the SMEs that are so important to the British economy.
69.5% of those who responded said their companies had an annual turnover of less than £1m while 65.9% said their businesses had fewer than 10 employees.
Some 16% of those polled were in retail - one of the hardest-hit sectors. Another 10% were in the hospitality sector, offering accommodation or food and drink.