Business confidence falls before lockdown

Business confidence in Yorkshire fell 13 points during March, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

The research, conducted between the 2nd and 16th March, before the country went into lockdown; showed that companies in the region had lower confidence in their business prospects and lower economic optimism, giving an overall confidence of 11%.

Responding specifically to the impact of the Coronavirus, 57% of Yorkshire businesses stated that they had already been affected or expected to be impacted, ahead of Boris Johnson’s initial call for the public to stay at home on March 16th. This decline illustrates the impact that the outbreak was having on business confidence before many initiatives launched by the Government to help combat the virus were announced.

Paul Varley, regional director for Yorkshire at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Following a period of improved confidence at the start of the year, the impact of the virus was clearly beginning to be felt by Yorkshire businesses even before the introduction of social distancing measures.

“As businesses continue to face significant challenges, we are here to help our customers through any interruptions they may face. As part of our anticipated £18bn of support for businesses this year, we’ve set aside £2bn of arrangement fee-free finance to help small firms affected by COVID-19.

“This funding is designed to help businesses manage their cashflow, which might have been affected by supply chain interruptions or employee absences. We’re also advising firms on how they can access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). We remain committed to supporting our customers in the weeks and months ahead in any way we can.”