Nearly a quarter of surviving UK businesses have seen turnover drop by more than 50% as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.
Some 23.4% of firms across all industries reported a drop in turnover of more than half – with a further 20.4% saying it had dropped between 20% and 50%, and 13.7% saying it had dropped by up to 20%. Hotels and restaurants, arts businesses and construction firms have reported the hardest hits.
Some 57.0% of businesses in accommodation and food services said turnover was down by more than half in the two weeks to April 19.
The same was true of 50.9% of businesses in arts, entertainment and recreation and 45.4% of businesses in construction.
The figures – from a business impact survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics – do not include businesses which have permanently or temporarily closed as a result of the virus.
According to the latest figures, 22.8% of companies across all industries have temporarily ceased trading. That is down slightly on the figure of 24.3% recorded a fortnight ago.
