THREE business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire have highlighted the “devastating” potential long-term effects of Covid-19 on the region’s biggest sectors – automotive, tourism, leisure & culture and higher education.
It comes after Boris Johnson announced new restrictions yesterday (Tuesday, September 22) and as the UK today (Wednesday September 23) marks six months since it first went into lockdown.
Nick Abell, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Chairman at Warwickshire law firm Wright Hassall, said: “The sudden surge of Covid-19, and its impact on the economy, unmasked just what a tightrope businesses walk in this day and age in terms of the reserves they have.
“Without the level of Government help, we would have seen total devastation for the majority of companies and the level of concern – almost panic – in the first couple of weeks really laid that bare.
“We would hope that is a lesson learned, but in a commercial world where people live off cashflow, that might not be possible.
“Three of the major sectors in Coventry and Warwickshire – automotive; tourism, leisure & culture; and higher education have borne the brunt of the economic impact and that has to shape how we look to invest in our region going forward.
“In the recent past, places such as Stratford had performed extremely well, but with Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin at Gaydon, and the fact that the area is an international tourism honeypot, the impact has been devastating.
“The rise of agile and flexible working has been hugely accelerated but that is largely a good thing and will sort out some of our historic productivity issues, there are impacts which seem to be ignored. The majority of private pensions are heavily invested in commercial property and if values fall, as they will, then it will have a long-term impact on people’s financial welfare at a time when little is being done for savers.
“With an aging population, pensioners are major investors into all aspects of the economy and if their capacity to do that is reduced it will mean more tough times ahead.”
Sarah Perry, managing partner at Wright Hassall, said: “The speed at which the crisis hit was actually quite disorientating for business leaders.
“It was a case of managing the very short term, hour-by-hour developments while also having to have a sense of the longer-term picture and the impacts it was going to have for our clients and our business.
“I found communicating with other people in business was really useful at that time to not only provide them with support, but to also clarify my own thinking.
“We’ve all learned huge lessons from the crisis as it has become clear just how quickly businesses can embrace change when the imperative is high enough. It is key to stay true to the culture of the business even in the most challenging of times.
“There will, undoubtedly, be many legacies from the crisis including the importance of agility within a business. It also goes without saying that a typical working week of 9am until 5.30pm for five days is going to be a thing of the past.
“In terms of wider society, recent events have also brought equality and social justice to the top of the agenda – as we have seen with the Black Lives Matter movement – and I hope 2020 is remembered as a turning point for these issues.
“The pace of change within business is going to accelerate and, while that can be daunting for some, it is a chance for us to put a greater emphasis on localism and working with businesses in our own area.
“Above all, whatever the future holds, the culture of a business is what is going to ensure survival and, ultimately, growth.”
Louise Bennett, the chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, added: “When we looked ahead to 2020, there was a great deal of confidence that this was going to be a positive year for business.
“But as soon as the crisis struck, firms across the region, the country and the world, went into damage limitation and survival mode.
“None of us had seen anything like it before but, as a Chamber, we drew upon our long-standing experience of supporting companies through everything from war to recession.
“As a trusted and accredited organisation, it was our role to guide businesses through the near-daily updates from Government on support packages available and on how to ensure they kept enough cash in their business to survive.
“The phrase ‘cash is king’ has never been quite so pertinent and our team worked hard to help as many businesses as possible survive.
“Throughout, the Chamber offered a blended approach of remote working with the Chamber Offices being open for business, particularly for our export clients who often need face-to-face support for their export documentation. Our online events, with partners such as Wright Hassall, proved to be incredibly informative and helpful to businesses across the patch.
“The economy has slowly reopened although it is clear we still face many challenges, not least in this region because of the make-up of our economy. As a not-for-profit business ourselves, we have experienced the same challenges that many of our members have also faced.
“The Chamber will be there to support businesses in dealing with the crisis as it continues to evolve but also in adapting to the future of the economy which will be changed forever.”
