The UK's manufacturing and building trades were among the worst hit by the pandemic with 82% having taken a financial hit due to the coronavirus outbreak while other sectors managed to recuperate their losses, the latest data from Fiverr suggests.
Manufacturing. Credit: betterteam.com
A number of key British industrial sectors were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with manufacturing and building being by far the most affected. Credit: Betterteam.com
The study, which looked at over 1000 key industry leaders across 11 cities in the UK, found that UK-based SMEs lost just under £192,000 (€225,000) in revenue per company on average.
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More than one in ten (13%) companies reported losing £500,000 (€585,000) or more during the pandemic and over 30% of SME leaders surveyed said they were negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Among the leaders surveyed, 52% admitted the government did a "good job" in handling the coronavirus pandemic, compared with the 29% who feel they handled it poorly.
Fiverr revealed the sectors most affected by the pandemic were the architecture, engineering and building sectors with an average loss of £316,891.93 (€371,000) per company, with manufacturing trailing close behind with an average loss of £276,255.91 (€323,000).
Of the industries surveyed, education was the least affected with £133,056.37 (€156,000) in losses per company on average.
Unsurprisingly, the region most affected by the pandemic was the Greater London metropolitan area - the most densely populated area in the UK and a hub for many of the UK's major industries. The West Midlands, which hosts much of the UK's manufacturing and automotive players, clocked in at second with a little under £100,000 in average losses between them.
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"In the past year, it's clear that SMEs have suffered - the financial loss is just the surface," said Peggy de Lange, Vice President of international expansion at Fiverr. "It's been inspiring to see how they continue to demonstrate resilience and agility through finding new revenue streams and being flexible to overcome the pressures Covid-19 has put on them.
Despite the challenges brought on by Covid-19, the report indicates the pandemic did not stop the growth of UK SMEs, with 42% branching into new regions since the outbreak.
Fiverr's data shows that 56% of businesses have discovered new revenue streams and 76% of this group say these new streams have brought in enough income to replace lost revenue through the avenues affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Furthermore, the company claims over 1 in 5 (21%) stated their new revenue streams exceeded their old ones.
Another major shock to the system caused by Covid has seen British business leaders considering making the switch to digital currencies - often referred to as "cryptocurrencies," highly decentralised and often unpredictable forms of online currency, commonly used on the dark web - as an alternative to cash.
The report hints as many as 30% of UK SMEs would consider converting cash assets into cryptocurrency, and report that 19% of those surveyed already have.
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However, this is a relatively small number when compared to the tech and IT industries, with 74% of respondents claiming they would either consider making moves in crypto or have already started investing in digital currencies.
The report also suggests those working in sales, marketing or social media - and particularly those in medium-sized businesses - have also warmed to cryptocurrencies throughout the pandemic, with 60% of those quizzed expressing interest in investing in them.
De Lange concluded: "UK SMEs have also been exploring digital currencies as so many have been open to cryptocurrency - another avenue for businesses to grow and leverage the digital world to bounce back after the pandemic."
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