Act now: From recovery to growth

At least 4,500 businesses were saved by the Government's pandemic support in 2020 and 2021 according to a new PwC report, Act Now: From Recovery to Growth. The report draws on detailed analysis of 18,000 business failures over the course of 17 years to assess the impact of government assistance on business failure levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many businesses are now shifting their focus away from survival and towards recovery and growth, but the prevailing corporate narrative could have been much worse. The report shows that without access to government support, 50 additional businesses would have failed every week throughout the pandemic. Many of these businesses will thrive in a post-crisis environment, but some will inevitably struggle—and possibly fail—as supports are tapered. Those with damaged balance sheets and elevated debt levels, in particular, are not out of the woods yet.