“I couldn’t put a figure on it but you would have to suspect that, of the 4,500 business saved [by Covid supports], there are a fair chunk of those that fall into the first bucket – zombie companies. And out of the remaining batch, there are going to be ones that fail. But there are viable businesses there that can be saved.“There are an awful lot of businesses with a broken balance sheet.
The issue is particularly acute for businesses in sectors worst hit by Covid – tourism and hospitality, aviation, live events and retail. But he also sees problems looming for manufacturers, many of which will have weathered Covid comfortably.from which, he says, we still import significant amount of material.