Almost half of businesses say their cash reserves will run out in six months

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Almost half of businesses say their cash reserves will run out in six months, but only 40% of Brits think they will be worse off after coronavirus crisis – and a third STILL think life will return to ‘normal’ this year

  • Some 44.2% of firms told the ONS their cash will run out in under six months 
  • Little more than a quarter had reserves that would last more than a year
  • But little more than four in ten Brits believe household finances will worsen
  • And a full third believe that life will return to normal in six months or less
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By David Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Almost half of UK businesses who have not closed permanently because of coronavirus have cash reserves that will run out in under six months, a shock new poll revealed today.

Some 44.2 per cent of companies told the Office for National Statistics they had reserves that will run out in under a year half a year, while 4.2 per cent have none at all.

Little more than a quarter of businesses had reserves that would last more than a year.

But today’s ONS’s economy and society surveys  also suggested many Britons are struggling to accept the massive impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation’s finances.

Little more than four in ten believe their household finances will get worse and a full third believe that life will return to normal in six months or less. 

Commenting on today’s findings, Hugh Stickland from the Office for National Statistics said: “Now for the first time, we’ve asked people about their attitudes and expectations of a post-pandemic nation. 

In many cases, this is optimistic, especially among older people. We expect Britain to become kinder and more united, although not necessarily more equal. 

There is a recognition that it will take longer for the nation to return to ‘normal’ than originally assumed, and that the economic future will be challenging.” 

The ONS latest survey looking into the business impact of coronavirus also revealed that 22 per cent of companies continued to pause trading over the two weeks between April 20 and May 3.

Meanwhile, 6 per cent of companies who said they were trading during the period said they had restarted operations following a previous pause in trading after the lockdown.