Many businesses went from marginal to unsustainable during the pandemic. Now - at best - they are marginal with unsustainable levels of debt.
We already had a crisis - 60% of restaurants fail in their first year and 80% within 5. Hospitality is hard.
More debt just makes it harder.
How many people do you know running small businesses rolling in money? Now they have to service debt as well as deal with reduced capacity.
Margins in the beverage industry are 10-15%. You can do the math.
I am lucky - thanks to Pokemon and Flesh and Blood we are operating at around 80% of 2019 levels. But our overheads haven't gone down and keeping the lights on during the eight months of lockdown - even with an online store - cost £75,000.
Or if you would rather, somewhere between three and five years worth of salary.
Debt doesn't magically vanish UNLESS you declare bankruptcy. Then £50K of your initial COVID loan is forgiven, and 80% of any further loan.
Parts of the country have just been told not to spend time inside. But there's no longer any support for those businesses affected. It's just the fucking North, right? No justice from Westminster up here.
This is far from over. And the economic damage will take a decade to mend, whatever the FT says about the fastest bounceback on record. They were probably talking about Dido Harding's salary.