In Focus Collections
Does anyone know what the future holds?
The current pandemic has brought a challenge and is going to be a test of agility and resilience for businesses and individuals
Brian Gibson, Head of business development, BW Legal
bgibson@bwlegal.co.uk www.bwlegal.co.uk
The world is a very different place than it was only a few months ago. The coronavirus has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world. The domestic and world economy will suffer too. Where will we be in six months, 12 months or even years to come?
Where are we now? To support employers and employees during this pandemic the government announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which were originally scheduled to run until 31 May. Last month, the government reported
that one in four UK workers had been furloughed since the scheme started. There appears to be no true modern
yardstick to benchmark the current situation against and as the uncertainty of the situation has unfolded, the CJRS has been extended until October and the SEISS until August, appearing to stave off uncertainty for many for now.
Government figures released this month
show that 79% of businesses in the UK had applied for the CJRS with £17.5bn of furlough wages having been claimed for staff and £7.2bn for the self-employed under the SEISS. Businesses have borrowed £31bn from
government-backed coronavirus loan schemes and HM Revenue & Customs have reported that 45% of VAT payments eligible for deferral were deferred by businesses to the amount of £22.4bn for return liability periods ending February and March on the returns submitted by 14 May. It has been widely reported that 42% of
businesses have less than six months cash reserves. Looking further into the Business Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Survey results released by the Office for National Statistics, the position gets bleaker with 24% of businesses declaring that they are not sure what cash reserves they have and 4% of businesses stating that they have no cash reserves.
This period is truly going to be the test of the agility and resilience of businesses and individuals. As a business BW Legal have quickly adapted to a new way of working and is one of the fortunate firms to be succeeding in these unprecedented times
June 2020
But wait… there is more…? Amongst all of this unrest, we may well be forgiven to fail to remember the previous hot topic of Brexit, but it is still there. With a delay to negotiations due to the
coronavirus, Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England governor, has informed lenders to be ready for a no-deal Brexit as the UK and EU continue to negotiate over a fourth round of trade talks. The UK leaves the EU at the end of this
year. There is the option to extend the transition period that has currently preserved the existing state of affairs for up to two
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years. This month marks the last chance for the UK and EU to agree any extension to this period and it is something that has so far been ruled out by the prime minister.
A test of agility This period is truly going to be the test of the agility and resilience of businesses and individuals. As a business BW Legal have quickly adapted to a new way of working and is one of the fortunate firms to be succeeding in these unprecedented times. As a firm, we are simply inspired by the
commitment and the ability of our staff to adapt during one of the most challenging times. We are also extremely proud to be
shortlisted for the Credit Excellence Awards 2020 as we continue to prove ourselves time and time again as an innovative leader in the market. CCR
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