Report: How has the third lockdown affected owner managed businesses?

Owner managed businesses form the backbone of the UK economy. An overall picture of the long-term impact of COVID-19 on this vital economic sector is some way off. It is clear that underneath the headline growth figures, many businesses that have been on life support are now in the early stages of recovery.

Our latest research, carried out in partnership with the Association of Practicing Accountants (APA), suggests there is a significant minority of owner managed businesses who have managed to pull through the last 12 months but are still struggling with the uncertain trading conditions.

The results from 435 owner managers have found:

• 11% reported that it is likely they will have to make redundancies in the next 3-6 months putting a potential 1.85 million jobs at risk across the UK
• 15% reported that their biggest challenge was business survival
• 24% reported a negative or very negative impact on their business since the UK left the EU with 15% citing Brexit supply chain issues as their single biggest challenge 
• 53% of respondents identified uncertain trading conditions as their biggest single challenge

Nonetheless: 

• 84% of respondents reported that they were either confident or somewhat confident that they would be able to access the finance that they needed over the next 6 months with anecdotal evidence suggesting that the major banks were continuing to lend
• Longer term 54% were more positive about their economic prospects outside the EU while 46% were less positive

Commenting on the findings, Mark Turner, Managing Partner at Lubbock Fine, said:

“Despite many owner managed businesses being faced with the challenge of business survival, the government support measures have helped numerous trades to continue operating with financial stability.

As accountants and business advisers, we will continue to help our clients on their road to recovery in these ambiguous conditions.

 We must remain flexible but also vigilant over the coming months, not only by setting out a recovery strategy with the use of government support, but also continuing to develop contingency plans for the unseen future.”

To download the full report, please click here.

How can we help?

If you’re looking for assistance on any of the above issues, please get in touch with Mark Turner, Managing Partner (markturner@lubbockfine.co.uk) or your usual Lubbock Fine contact.

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