More than 1 in 10 businesses have revealed it is impossible or unviable to open up ahead of the UK lockdown being lifted on July 4th.
More SMEs have reported greater levels of stress and anxiety due to Covid-19, finds the latest results from the ACCA UK and The Corporate Finance Network (The CFN) SME Recovery Tracker: Featuring insights from accountants working with the small business community.
An expert panel of accountants representing over 16,000 SME clients in the UK have reported that 61% of firms that made enquiries for CBILS are still awaiting a response, with just 4% progressed to full application and 9% accepted.
Findings also reveal that 55% of clients have decided to defer their tax payments.
Please note: This news item has now been superseded by more detailed guidance for employers issued by Department for BEIS on Monday 11th May which can be found here
Following the Prime Minister’s address to the nation yesterday evening (Sun 10th May, transcript here) I received many messages asking my opinion on what that meant for xx business or yy business and I think that the following must be possible before a business is ready to re-open:
“Plaiting Fog” and “Watching paint dry” are also phrases that come to mind. On 18th March, the Chancellor said “We will do whatever it takes” to support businesses and employees through this crisis. Yet, 4 weeks later, businesses are still floundering to access most of the support which has allegedly been offered.
