East London accountancy firm Davis Grant has revealed in its latest study that more than a fifth of firms (22 per cent) have seen their income decline by at least 20 per cent due to the Coronavirus crisis.
The firm, which has clients across the South East, asked businesses of all sizes their thoughts on the current crisis at the end of July and in early August and have produced an Attitudes to Crisis Report.
Although a fifth of businesses are running at only 80 per cent of normal turnover when compared to pre-pandemic levels, meaning they have seen income decline by 20 per cent, the study also showed that 16 per cent of businesses had reported a total loss of income because their business remained closed.
Businesses were also asked about their immediate concerns about survival. The survey showed that around 28 per cent of businesses were not at all concerned about their immediate survival, while overall the responses suggested businesses were not about the risk of immediate business failure.
In fact, only seven per cent of respondents strongly agreed with a statement that said they had immediate concerns about the survival of their company.
When looking into the future, around 48 per cent of the 121 businesses surveyed strongly agreed with a statement that said they were confident about their business surviving the next six months.
Looking at the recent support made available by the Government, around 56 per cent of businesses strongly disagreed with a statement that said that they had accessed support through a loan or increased credit.
In comparison, only 18 per cent of business leaders strongly agreed with the same statement, suggesting that the majority of businesses have gone it alone so far.
COVID-19 has affected every part of the UK economy in at least some small way and every business has had to adapt and change.
Whilst some sectors have been particularly hard hit, others seem to be carrying on and as our survey has revealed around 16 per cent have seen no impact to their turnover at all, while five per cent have recorded growth since the pandemic began.
Despite all that these businesses have faced and the challenges ahead of them, many seem very confident about their future, with lots of businesses having not required a loan and with many more not seeking additional finance at this time, which suggests they may have sufficient resources to ride out the storm.
Barry Chernoff, Director, Davis Grant
Davis Grant is currently conducting regular surveys through the Coronavirus crisis to better understand the needs of UK businesses, so that it can carefully tailor its tax, accountancy and business advice services to meet their expectations and requirements.
To receive a copy of the full report from Davis Grant, please contact Nick Van de Weyer by emailing nick@davisgrant.co.uk
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