UK's biggest firms expect long haul to recovery

Finance chiefs in the UK remained divided on the expected speed of the recovery in their business but were a bit less downbeat, the results of the a closely-followed survey showed.

Consultancy Deloitte found that at the end of the second quarter, 49% of the chief financial officers of the country's largest enterprises believed business would not recover until the back half of 2021.

A minority, or 10%, said it had already and done so and a further one third had penciled in the first half of 2021 for the anticipated recovery.

"Major corporates are expecting a long haul back to pre-COVID levels of revenue," said Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte.

"COVID-19 overshadows all other sources of risk for UK CFOs, and by a wide margin."

Indeed, the survey showed that firms remained resolutely downbeat when it came to the outlook for jobs, investment or adding risk to their balance sheet, albeit by reportedly less than in the previous edition of the survey.

Deloitte canvassed CFOs for their forecasts between 26 June and 8 July.

Precisely due to the risk of a drawn-out rebound in business, also overnight Make UK called on the government to extend its job furlough scheme.