Insights
This year has posed a lot of challenges for manufacturing and construction businesses. From being forced to close, to putting projects on hold and cash flow problems. With a second Coronavirus wave and subsequent lockdowns, we have worked with our partner, Bionic, to address key issues and how we can help.
How has COVID-19 impacted the construction industry?
The construction industry was hit hard by COVID-19 in 2020, with 86% of construction firms reporting a fall in business activity since March, according to IHS Markit and Cips figures.
The survey of more than 4,000 businesses across the construction sector also found that almost two-thirds (62%) suspended operations as a result of COVID-19, with one-in-five (21%) feeling the need to shut down all operations. The main reasons for suspending operations included:
- The main contractor closed the site (23%)
- The project being worked on was paused (19%)
- A duty of care to protect staff (19%)
- Considered non-essential (12%)
- Unable to maintain 2m distancing (11%)
Since lock-down restrictions were first lifted, the number of contractors seeking to be awarded SafeContractor accreditation to showcase to new and existing clients that they are site ready and reliable has more than tripled, according to SafeContractor internal figures.
What other headwinds are business owners concerned about and how can we help?
Brexit may no longer be front of mind or top of the news agenda, but that doesn’t mean it’s going away, and the clock is ticking on our transition period, which means we’ll be out of the EU on December 31st, 2020. The government has said there’ll be no extension to the current transition period and, with no deal in sight, the ongoing uncertainty has been cited as business owners’ fifth placed headwind.
Managing costs and having a lack of cash to invest were both cited as major concerns, and both could become an even greater problem over the coming months as government-backed financial support schemes come to an end, including the furlough scheme, which has been extended to March 2021. It’s reported that 1 in 3 businesses are considering making redundancies as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic’s impact on their finances.
With more and more small businesses looking at how they can reduce their outgoings, July saw its highest number of electricity switches since records began. According to our partner, Bionic, this is down to businesses being forced to focus on their outgoings, to scrape back costs from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
As saving on your business essentials is the quickest way to help get your business in shape, we recommend checking how much you can save with our partner Bionic. It only takes 5-10 minutes.
How Bionic can help you save £1,027* in 5-10 mins.
Running a quick business energy comparison with the help of Bionic’s tech-enabled experts could save you an average of £1,027* in three simple steps:
Enter your business postcode.
Business postcode and the tech-enabled energy team will use smart data to get the info they need to run a business energy comparison.
Get your quotes.
The business energy experts compare business energy suppliers to get your quotes and help you choose the best energy tariff for your business.
Switch business energy.
Bionic will contact both your old and new suppliers and handle the switch for you. They can even take care of renewals to get you the best energy deals every year.
If you run a large business with a high energy demand, Bionic can also offer the following additional services:
- Bespoke procurement service
- Bill validation service
- Metering and data collector service
- Services for business with multiple sites
See how much you could save now
*At least 10% of businesses who switched energy supplier for both gas & electricity with us between August 2017 and August 2018 saved £1,027 or more.
