Avian Flu raises business failure concerns

AVIAN FLU PANDEMIC WOULD LEAVE ONE IN FIVE FIRMS UNABLE TO PAY THEIR BILLS

More than a fifth of firms do not have sufficient working capital in place to enable them to survive an outbreak of avian 'flu lasting 12 weeks - the typical length of time which a pandemic lasts.

Some 23 per cent of directors admitted that their business would not be able to survive for three-months if their customer base were disrupted by a pandemic. 60 per cent said that they would and 17 per cent were unsure.

These results come from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry's London Business Panel survey, consisting of 287 directors whose companies do business in or around the capital.

In other findings, 30 per cent of firms said that they had updated their contingency plan specifically to deal with an avian 'flu outbreak. Some 22 per cent had not, 18.6 per cent did not know and a further 29 per cent did not have a contingency plan. Just 17 per cent of firms said that they had tested their contingency plan since the threat of avian 'flu emerged. Some 10 per cent of firms said that their business would be sensitive to public events such as football matches, conferences and concerts being compulsorily cancelled by government to prevent the spread of avian 'flu. However, 90 per cent said that they would not.

More than one fifth (22 per cent) of firms said that they would no longer be able to operate their business model if between 10 and 30 per cent of staff became unavailable for work. 40 per cent said that they would not be able to function if between 30 and 50 per cent of their staff became unavailable for work. And 39 per cent said it would be necessary for more than half of their staff to be unavailable before their business became unviable.

LCCI president Michael Cassidy said: "This is not scaremongering by the LCCI. Thinking ahead is the best way of tackling this type of threat. Running out of cash through lack of fore-thought is the swiftest way to insolvency, particularly with smaller businesses." "This is a worrying outcome of our survey which should be treated as a wake-up call for business leaders." Britain has a high vulnerability to the spread of avian flu once it has mutated to the human form, because of our dense population and international links. So readiness to deal with its consequences should have high priority in business planning. This survey shows that much still needs to be done to avoid the most obvious threats of such an eventuality."

For more details on our events, workshops and industry development work, as well as the general activities of the Continuity Forum please contact us directly on +44 208 993 1599 or mail us HERE!

 If you would like to know more about how your organisation can get involved and benefit from working with the Continuity Forum, please email us HERE! or call on + 44 (0) 208 993 1599.