Nearly a quarter of surviving UK businesses have seen their turnover drop by a half or more because of the coronavirus lockdown.
Across all industries, 23.4 per cent of firms that have remained open reported a drop in turnover of 50 per cent or more, while one in five said their turnover had dropped by between 20 and 50 per cent. 13.7 per cent saying it had dropped by between 0 and 20 per cent.
The figures, from a business impact survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics, do not include businesses that have permanently or temporarily closed as a result of the virus. According to the latest figures, 22.8 per cent of companies across all industries have temporarily ceased trading. That is down slightly on the figure of 24.3 per cent recorded a fortnight ago.
Hotels and restaurants, arts businesses and construction firms remaining open have reported the hardest hits. 57 per cent of businesses in accommodation and food services said their turnover halved, or worse, in the two weeks to 19 April. The same was true of 50.9 per cent of businesses in arts, entertainment and recreation and 45.4 per cent of construction firms.
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