A new Chamber of Commerce survey of more than 1,100 UK businesses in the South West highlights the un-paralleled scale of the economic impact being faced by companies grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey, conducted between 2nd and 17th April by Business West Chambers of Commerce – one of the UK’s largest regional business organisations – covered businesses in Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, West of England and Gloucestershire and shows a high number of firms with concerns about their current and future financial position, while confidence in their ability to survive falls sharply when asked to consider the continuation of lockdown measures.
When asked the question: “Do you have concerns about your financial position due to the impact of COVID-19 currently or in the future?†62% of all firms said that they had concerns currently, while 88% said they were concerned about their future financial position.
The survey asked for their views on the viability of their business if the current crisis continues. This shows a very steep decline in their confidence of their ‘ability to cope’, which gets sharper as it moves from one, three and six months, up to a year.
The survey will be repeated over the next few weeks to try and find out how businesses are coping with the gradual release from Lockdown.
You can read the findings of the April survey here:
The Coronavirus Business Impact Survey Report by Business West – April 2020
