Snow may be billion-pound loss for UK economy
The snow storms which paralysed Britain may have cost businesses already battling the credit crunch up to a billion pounds, experts said Tuesday — and more blizzards could be on the way.
The 10 centimetres (four inches) of snow which coated London, Europe’s financial capital, on Monday virtually shut down air, rail and road links, forcing thousands of workers to stay at home in the worst storms in 18 years.
With Britain in recession and facing what the International Monetary Fund says will be the worst slump in the developed world, the rare cold snap risks putting many struggling businesses into the deep freeze for good.
The Federation of Small Businesses, which represents over 200,000 business people, said one in five workers did not make it to the job on Monday, costing employers up to 1.2 billion pounds (1.3 billion euros, 1.7 billion dollars).
Spokesman Stephen Alambritis said if the bad weather continues this week, the cost could rise to 3.5 billion pounds.
The bad weather also hit other European countries including France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain.
Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, suggested several thousand firms could go bankrupt after the snow, especially if it lingers.
“If it leads to delayed payments, the combined hit on profits and cashflow could send many businesses who might be close to the brink into premature bankruptcy,” he told the Guardian newspaper. “Many are in retail and construction, sectors likely to be most affected by snow and transport disruption.”
See Snow may be billion-pound loss for economy: experts.
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Tags: extreme weather, natural hazards
