Thanks are due to the businesses that engaged with our recent survey, results can be seen here.
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Operations during the whole of 2023 - 84% of businesses had been operating at 76% capacity or more during the whole of 2023 including 75% of serviced accommodation providers and 89% of self catering providers. 16% of businesses had been operating at 75% capacity or less including 12% at 51-75% capacity, 3% at 26-50% and just 1% at 1-25% capacity. None of the businesses surveyed had been closed.
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Economic Impact - 53% of businesses reported a decrease in their business turnover for the whole of 2023 compared with the whole of 2022.
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Economic Impact - Overall, businesses reported that turnover for the whole of 2023 was 13% lower than the whole of 2022 (approximate value £847m).
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Operations January to March 2023 - 71% of businesses anticipated they would be operating at 76% capacity or more during the January to March 2024 period. 24% of businesses anticipated they would be operating at 75% capacity or less. 6% of businesses anticipated they would be closed during this period.
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Operating statements agreement levels - Agreement levels were highest with the statement “My costs have increased significantly in the last year” (67% ‘strongly agreed’ and 28% ‘agreed’), followed by “Consumer spend overall is lower than previous years” (49% ‘strongly agreed’ and 34% ‘agreed’). Whilst agreement levels were lowest with the statement “I am concerned about surviving the Winter period” (30% ‘strongly agreed’ and 24% ‘agreed’) this still represents more than half of all the businesses surveyed who are concerned about their business survival prospects.
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Most impactful factors - When asked which factors they thought were currently having the most impact on their business by far the largest proportion of businesses (85%) said increasing energy & fuel costs, followed by poor UK economic/climate/less money in consumers’ pockets. When asked what they think will be the approximate total change in their businesses' operational costs as a result of these factors, the largest proportion of businesses (25%) said they are likely to increase by more than 20%, 23% by between 16-20% and 21% by between 11-15%.
Full Report Here