One in seven UK companies risk collapse due to Covid-19 crisis - ONS

One in seven companies is at risk of collapsing in the next three months due to the struggles caused by the Covid-19 crisis, revealed the latest survey by the Office for National Statistics.

The survey published on Friday said that some 14% of British businesses claimed they have "low or no confidence" that they will survive the next 12 weeks.

The data collected by the ONS said that the percentage of businesses temporarily closed or paused trading has risen since the latest survey carried out during the summer.

The ONS said that businesses’ responses may be influenced by the opening and closing of restrictions during the questionnaire period (during October).

The least positive responses came from accommodation and food services, with 34% saying they had no or low confidence in their three-month survival prospects.

Across all industries, 7% of businesses said they expected to temporarily or permanently close a site in the next two weeks, including 25% of accommodation and food service firms.

The ONS also said that 9% of the workforce was on furlough during the two weeks to 1 November, with a whopping 34% belonging to the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector.