Our research suggests that Europe's hospitality and leisure industry is the most concerned about the impact of a recession. Government restrictions on travel, shopping, dining out, exercise and other leisure activities have hit the sector hard.

European economies are entering recessions of historic proportions. The European Commission's Summer 2020 Economic Forecast projects that the EU economy will contract by 8.3 per cent in 2020 and grow by about 5.8 per cent in 2021.2 Our findings from the latest European Payment Report 2020 provide an indication of the long-term impact to come: 38 per cent of respondents expect a recession to have a severe effect on their business

Hospitality and leisure has taken a hit

Our research suggests that Europe's hospitality and leisure industry is the most concerned about the impact of a recession. Government restrictions on travel, shopping, dining out, exercise and other leisure activities have hit the sector hard. More than four in 10 respondents from this sector (42 per cent) say that a recession will have a severe impact on their businesses - the highest figure of the 11 industries we surveyed.

Businesses cut cost and take on less debt as the recession looms

To protect their business in preparation for recession, 38 per cent of respondents plan to cut costs, while 35 per cent will be more cautious about debt. Year on year, these are the top two measures that European businesses take to protect themselves.

One preparatory measure has changed this year. Businesses are placing more scrutiny on their hiring plans: 29 per cent say they are looking to cut down on recruitment to prepare for a recession, compared with 18 per cent in 2019.

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Intrum Justitia AB published this content on 30 September 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 September 2020 11:59:02 UTC