About 250,000 British companies will not survive the pandemic and Brexit this year

About 250,000 British companies will not survive the pandemic and Brexit this year

A record 250,000 small British companies are heading to close this year due to the combined pressure of the coronavirus and Brexit pandemics. The British Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that according to its survey, small companies in the field of employment face "huge costs" if they do not receive additional support from the Ministry of Finance. The news.sky.com portal informs about it. A quarterly survey conducted by the FSB on a sample of 1,400 companies showed that as British small companies struggled with renewed lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic, their mood dropped to the second lowest level since the financial crisis. In addition, exporters "feel the pressure" of new rules in trade with the EU. Almost half of small exporters expect a decline in sales abroad. The survey also shows that one-fifth of small UK companies cut staff in the final quarter of 2020, and one expect a reduction in staff in the first quarter of this year. The share of companies predicting a weakening of profits rose to a record 58 percent, the federation said.