Dynamic entrepreneurs facing cashflow concerns caused by Covid-19
Some 68 per cent of the UK’s most dynamic entrepreneurs have cashflow concerns, up from 25 per cent before Covid-19, a nationwide survey has found.
University of Edinburgh Business School analysed responses from 565 fast growing entrepreneurial businesses, representing six per cent of all UK businesses.
Initial results showed that almost half of businesses have halted all strategic investment, 59 per cent are seeing a significant fall in business turnover and 51 per cent are experiencing supply chain issues.
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This ongoing study is being led by Professor Francis Greene and Dr Alessandro Rosiello from the University of Edinburgh Business School.
“Covid-19 has caused significant losses for over half of our most growth-orientated companies and stalled a substantial proportion of the investment these firms would have otherwise made in growing their business,” said Professor Greene, chair in entrepreneurship and head of the entrepreneurship and innovation group at University of Edinburgh Business School.
“These firms are the key growth engine of the economy and of the nation’s export trade.
“We will depend on their entrepreneurial dynamism to repair the UK economy after Covid-19.
“The government needs to start developing a long-term plan to support these firms after the lockdown ends when many will have little or no revenue.”
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One third of companies surveyed felt the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention scheme is unlikely to benefit them and one in five think all of the relief measures do not go far enough.
Follow-on surveys will be conducted in the coming months to gather information on business performance over the summer.