Over half of large and medium sized businesses (55 per cent) expect a substantial revenue drop this year due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The poll, commissioned by Leonne International, a global private equity provider, was conducted by independent survey company Censuswide, which quizzed 200 senior business decision-makers on the government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.
The polling was conducted between Wednesday 18 March – Thursday 19 March after the Chancellor’s announcement of a GBP330 billion package to support businesses cope with the outbreak. Some 52 per cent agreed that the government was doing enough to help companies tackle the crisis, with 48 per cent disagreeing.
Worryingly, nearly one-third (28 per cent) said they now were actively planning to make redundancies to survive the crisis, with 72 per cent against.
Furthermore, 56 per cent of business chiefs said they predicted an economic crash ‘worse than 2008’ with 44 per cent disagreeing. Whilst 40 per cent expected a major house price crash this year, as a knock-on effect of the outbreak.
When it comes to support for businesses, 47 per cent said there should be more collaboration between the global business community to devise a plan of action to address the implications of the outbreak. Forty three per cent of respondents also said that banks should offer businesses ‘zero-interest’ loans to support them through the crisis.
Additionally, 24 per cent said that their bank was reluctant to provide the necessary short-term financial support to tackle the crisis, with 76 per cent against.
Michael Haston, CEO, Leonne International, says: “It’s clear that the Chancellor’s swift and decisive action has provided much-needed support to business leaders, despite the huge disruption caused by Covid-19. With millions of jobs at stake and tens of thousands of businesses seeing a sharp decline in revenue, it’s essential that the government stands squarely behind British businesses to help them through this crisis.”
“However, there needs to be a much more concerted effort within the wider business community to help companies get access to the financial and support they need to avoid lay-offs. It’s also critical that banks and financial services providers do everything in their power to help companies get access to the credit they need.”
