Covid cost to North West small businesses

North West smaller businesses have taken on average a £11,494 hit from coronavirus and the lockdown.

The SME Confidence Report spoke to 3,700 small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners across the UK to measure the impact of Covid-19 on them and found that in London the pandemic will cost £17,074 each on average in lost work, earnings and loan repayments. The national average is £11,779.

Across the whole of the UK, the total cost of coronavirus to SMEs will top £69bn.

The figures come as The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned the UK is likely to be the hardest-hit by Covid-19 among major world economies, with the UK economy likely to fall by 11.5 per cent in 2020. ONS figures released on Friday also showed the UK economy dropped a record 20.4 per cent in April, far exceeding the downturn during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Business confidence is at its lowest in the North West and Scotland, where well over two fifths say their business is at risk of closure.

More optimistically across the country, three quarters of SMEs plan to continue, or restart, their current business, while 10 per cent are even confident they’ll start a new business. Across all regions, around a fifth report feeling positive about life after coronavirus.