To be worried at the amount of companies in financial difficulty already

[Handiies]

Oasis and Flybe isn't a huge surprise. But now we have virgin and even Mumsnet saying their future is very uncertain without a bailout.

I can't see this ending anytime soon and worry the knock on affects will be huge. What happens when furlaugh ends and if lots of companies just can't continue trading? Lots of places were having a hard time anyway and this could be the end of them. Then what Amazon, Google and apple to be the only companies with money and will hoover everything up? It seems so worrying that we'll soon have little choice but to buy from tax avoiding companies that weld so much power

YANBU I know of a number of big restaurants groups that are literally on the brink of survival. Plus I'm sure many high street retailers are on the edge.

Many businesses weren't doing great before, airlines have a specific issue but and restaurants were closing already

Oh I know lots were on the edge, but this is going to make towns absolute ghosttowns. Just a few big companies.

Then there's Mumsnet if a company like that is close to closing how many other companies that you'd never expect to struggle are really struggling?

I don’t know. I think more people will look at incentives and resources to start their own - particularly if they have realised wfh is feasible and low cost (most already have the computer and broadband). I think those with commitments and heavy overheads will be adversely affected but it frees the space up for others to enter the market. Such is business and the reality of that world. Jobs when lost however are very sad.

Maybe it will encourage businesses to be ran more ethically with long term sustainable planning

Im of course joking. Theyll still be chasing every penny for shareholders and fuck the rest

The businesses that were already vulnerable will collapse. Mumsnet was already vulnerable because of a large loan take out to buy the other key shareholder. The exception to that will be flight and holiday companies and some chain restaurants.
Small businesses will suffer far more. But they are also the ones that are more easily set up again by someone else.
But many big names will continue.

Working from home would be great, but what about all the shops? Once they close j doubt they'll be opening again

I really think shops have failed to take into account the effect of online shopping. They need to embrace it fully and realise what makes a physical space unique. People still want to see, touch, try on a product - they could really have embraced this aspect as everyone wants to see thriving high streets. Then the restaurants and coffee shops make sense. Late night eating on closed off pedestrianised roads from say 8-11, fashion shops where you can find out your exact size in relation their products and have bigger, better changing rooms like a boutique experience. People want the hang out aspect. and will then buy the Bk product online at home. This also ensures quality. Charity shops could also partner up with coffees shops - provide books to read for a contribution, etc. The high street could really be a fantastic place with galleries, eateries and shops to browse, peruse, etc. Slow down the pace and make it a ‘passeo’ like in European cities. Later openings in summer, decent street entertainment, open theatre and music but get the ambience right for each particular market and get the traffic off the road - everyone will be out and those small purchases add up, particularly once people make it a regular thing that’s pleasurable.

Also make sure that landlords maintain their properties to a set standard of kerb appeal and limit the amount of vape/pound/etc shops. Businesses have to see their role in this in providing a balanced consumer option.

The businesses that were already vulnerable will collapse. Mumsnet was already vulnerable because of a large loan take out to buy the other key shareholder.

Do you think the Mumsnet collapse is inevitable?

No I am not saying that Mumsnet will collapse, I have no idea what will happen. I am saying it was already a vulnerable business because of the level of debt.

I think if it was known how long it would last then more may survive, but the unknown is just too much for most to withstand, a lot of small businesses as well which is sad. Working from home will change jobs forever, in negative ways too.

It doesn’t have to be like this. During the 2008 crash I was in Dublin. A pub had closed down but the bar staff and a group of DJs, artists, etc decided to try and get it up and running. No one got paid, they gave their time for free and in a couple of months had built a really great place to hang out, that would have started to generate some real money (people wanted to support it). Every time they got somewhere, the landlord raised the rent - they just couldn’t sustain it as most of them were unemployed themselves. The Irish government had some fantastic initiatives to help businesses and individuals- really smart, long term strategies that were backed up by putting solid finance in place - for unemployed people too. They were scuppered, I think by the pressure on landlords who also saw a fall in equity and then nothing can breathe.

We’ve had 10 years of austerity 🤷🏼‍♀️

If you think what we've had is austerity, you ain't seen nothing yet.

I think corona just speeds up the process for many struggling companies and the high street in particular.

I agree ylavamon, with the exception of some small businesses, i think most who will fold will have folded anyway.

Carpetright have refused to deliver any carpets for a month (including mine) whilst still taking orders for new carpet online. Then have now been updating their website all day today. Im worries there will be an announcement on Monday.

If I had realised they had financial issues in 2018 and 2019 I wouldn’t have used them!

The first businesses to go will already have been in trouble (cath K, warehouse, oasis all had signalled trouble before Covid).

A LOT of businesses have been limping on to see what happens after Brexit - those wont survive because they were already dead in the water.

A lot of small businesses won’t survive either - even with furlough payments there aren’t many businesses that have enough capital behind them to survive long periods with no income but with all the overheads to pay still. Furlough only pays the staff. Many of those businesses fail in the medium term.

Small businesses are the easiest ones to restart. So if the popular restaurant near me closes because of lock down, someone will restart a restaurant in its site once people are willing to go out and eat.

Don’t some businesses voluntarily fold and then open up under new names once they are able to renegotiate better trade deals?

Many are limited companies. Im sure their shareholders will stuff their pockets before they let it sink then refloat it when the crisis is over. Watch this space.

Lots of things are going back to normal.

60% or my companies engineers are going back next. After discussions with the H&S exec, it appears quite a few are.

KFC, burger King, B&Q are starting to open up again, slowly.

The more places that open, with new ways of working and making a good go of it, the more other businesses will follow.

Lots of the companies that have closed didn't need to. We furloughed all but 5%. Because someone whinged on twitter, saying we weren't key workers and piers Morgan got involved.

Clearly neither of them got the memo that you could go to work if you couldn't work from home.

It was decided to just close most operations, because it wasn't worth the PR disaster. Quite funny how piers Morgan was then priasing everyone who worked in the nightingale project, which included us....the non essential workers.

I think from the end of next week, more places will open.

For the highstreet to survive, we need to see rent and business rate cuts in the short term at least. It also has to adapt and move with the times.

If councils are willing to really support their highstreets, when everything is over, you will get people willing to start up small businesses like coffee shops and restaurants again. I do think shops need to rethink their approach and offer an "experience" as well as just somewhere to buy clothes.

A lot of the restaurants near me have started doing takeaway and click and collect services. The local taxi firm has set up a way to deliver people's shopping for a small fee. Small businesses can also be flexible in the short term and adapt.

However, the timing for them has been crap- Jan/Feb is often a rubish time for restaurants, with Easter being when trade picks up again. I live in a tourist town, and the Easter holidays are really the start of the season, so savings may be running low for some people anyway.

There is a big recession coming, and I do think a coversation needs to be had as to how we want to ride this out. Austerity is not the only option.

Then there's Mumsnet if a company like that is close to closing how many other companies that you'd never expect to struggle are really struggling?
Mumsnet is the only forum that I've heard of with a £350k per year wage bill. All of the other forums of this size that I use are run with no external funding...

Mn were very unlucky with a loan and pay out. Someone was very lucky with timing but not mnhq.

The rest, I’m not surprised. If demand plummets it doesn’t take long to need cash.