The impact of Covid-19 on UK small business

Six months after the nationwide coronavirus lockdown was introduced in March, we’ve created a new report that reveals Covid-19’s impact on small businesses.

• Coronavirus: what support is available for small businesses and the self-employed?
• UK small business grants
• Recovery Advice for Business scheme and other free business support
• Visit our coronavirus support hub

Over the last six months, we’ve been surveying small business owners to find out first-hand how the coronavirus pandemic has affected self-employed people.

Difficulties and challenges – but also resilience

In these surveys, we’ve spoken to thousands of small business owners.

Our headlines reveal that:

• Covid-19 could cost small businesses up to £69 billion in total
• 234,000 small businesses have already stopped trading
• one in five small businesses don’t think that they would survive another lockdown

And while it’s been a difficult and challenging time for small businesses, a story of resilience and creativity has also emerged. We’ve learned that:

• 85 per cent of small business owners intend to remain self-employed
• 10 per cent are planning to start a new business
• one in five small businesses have adopted new technologies

But while small businesses remain resilient, their survival still relies on wider government policy.

Download our report for more data

To find out the full impact of Covid-19 on the UK’s small business, download our complete report. You can read about:

• how different regions have been affected
• overall small business confidence
• how small businesses fear the worst when it comes to a second lockdown

We’d like to carry on hearing from small business owners about the impact of Covid-19. Please leave a comment below to tell us about your experience.