Small firms in North West have lost an average of £22,000 during pandemic

Small businesses in the North West have been among the worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research.
Many SMEs have seen their takings plummetMany SMEs have seen their takings plummet
Many SMEs have seen their takings plummet

The study by Simply Business spoke to more than 1,200 SMEs across the UK to measure the impact of coronavirus on them.

The report found that SMEs in East Anglia, London and The North West have been the most affected by the pandemic.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

East Anglian SMEs have felt the greatest financial impact across the UK, with an average loss of £25,035 each so far and expecting total losses to almost double to a staggering £44,703.

Following closely behind, SMEs in London have lost an average of £23,667 so far, with a total loss of £38,127 projected each.

The North West is the UK’s third most affected region, losing £21,982 each on average and expecting losses to amount to £23,766 each on average.

Some regions have been hit harder than others. Nationally, SMEs have lost £19,205 each on average so far due to the pandemic, and expect total losses to reach £26,852, each.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Some regions have experienced a financial impact greater than the UK average, whether due to difficulty in accessing government support or through tighter regional lockdowns and restrictions at different stages throughout the pandemic.

Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business, commented: “The pandemic has had a significant impact on all businesses, regardless of size – but few have been hit harder than small businesses and the self-employed.

“The scale of the impact is abundantly clear, with Covid-19 set to cost SMEs £126.6 billion in total.

"The effect of Covid-19 varies across regions with some being hit even harder than others.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"This is a huge blow to the economy at large, but will have an even greater impact on the people behind these firms – small business owners, all of which have families, livelihoods, and dreams to protect.”