15 Jun How will Freedom Day delay affect SMEs?
Yesterday, Boris Johnson announced a four-week delay to Covid lockdown easing in England. This announcement has raised major concern among already struggling businesses and industries, as despite the furlough scheme being extended and other business support scheme in place, many are still questioning how they will financially survive amidst the delay.
For SMEs especially, who make up 99.9% of the private sector and employ around 60% of the workforce, this comes as a blow to plans made to reopen fully on June 21st. With hospitality firms operating at lower capacity and in some cases struggling to pay the bills, the next few weeks will be crucial to their long-term survival.
Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital, discusses why private equity is so key to the survival of SMEs:
“Small businesses are among the most resilient and determined in the UK but this comes as yet another blow in an already unprecedented year of change and financial hardship. Good news is on the way with the end of restrictions but surviving the next month will be no easy feat. This is where the vital community of private investors that support growing small firms will be key. A huge number of the firms struggling today will be the growth engines of the future economy and have perfectly viable business models and strategies in normal times. These are, however, not normal times.
“Private equity houses such as IW Capital and other sources of finance will be working closely over the next month with business owners to make sure they come out the other side. This is one of the key advantages of this kind of investment, as with Angel investment, the success of the entrepreneurs and the businesses we back is of the utmost importance. ”
