96% of businesses in town and city centres need government support
This week the Institute of Place Management released the results of its COVID-19 research into business resilience in town and city centres.
The research was commissioned by the Professional, Research and Data Group of the High Streets Task Force to quickly inform government policy and identify the town centre businesses that are likely to be most at risk.
The least resilient currently were shown to be: food and beverage; personal and other services; human health and social work; and retail.
Acknowledgements
The Institute thanks all the business owners that have contributed to the research, and The BID Foundation, British BIDs and the Association of Town and City Management for distributing the survey to their members..
Key findings
The research design involved an online survey of high street businesses located within a range of town and city centres in England. Data were obtained from 1,016 respondents between 17-27 April 2020. The vast majority of those surveyed were small independent businesses from retail, food and beverage, and personal services sectors – typical ‘high street’ businesses.
- 55% of business premises were closed and not currently operating
- 67.4% of businesses have seen an 81-100% decrease in turnover compared to last year
- Almost all of respondents (96%) have applied for Government support, via one or more of its relief schemes.
The most prevalent support schemes were the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (i.e. ‘furlough’), deferment of VAT payments, business rates relief and small business grants. - Government financial support was most frequently used for paying suppliers, staff wages, utilities and rent
- Only 61% of businesses had paid their last monthly rent bill in full.
(77% of survey respondents were tenants in their business premises). - 52% expect to pay their next month’s rent in full
Many businesses (42%) have negotiated some alternative arrangement with their landlord. Of those respondents that were owner-occupiers with commercial mortgages, all had been able to secure some form of flexibility such as a ‘holiday’ on the interest and/or capital.
Based on the research:
- The sectors identified as least resilient are: food and beverage; personal and other services; human health and social work; and retail.
This confirms findings from comparative and qualitative analysis, as the majority of these businesses were, at the time of the survey, forced to remain closed, and therefore unable to generate any income. The majority of these businesses are also small businesses with 1-9 employees, which appear to be most affected by this crisis.
A business resilience composite score was calculated that shows the confidence and capability of a business to navigate the COVID-19 crisis. This was based on: (1) its current assets and fiscal resources when taking into account the impact on turnover compared to last year; (2) the current business status; (3) the level of assistance received from the government or other sources: (4) whether the business premises are rented or not; and (5) the estimated period until the business will be forced to cease trading if the situation remains unchanged.
Access the report now - available via the High Streets Task Force
Acknowledgements
The Institute thanks all the business owners that have contributed to the research, and The BID Foundation, British BIDs and the Association of Town and City Management for distributing the survey to their members.
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.