Business investment in the utilities sector fell be almost 57% annually during the coronavirus pandemic, according to analysis of latest official data by tax relief consultancy Catax.
Total business investment in the electricity, gas and water sector fell to £1.7bn in the second quarter of 2020, down from £3.9bn in the same period last year, the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show.
Catax CEO Mark Tighe said: “This year has caught everyone off guard.
“The second quarter was when the pandemic really saw economies slamming on the brakes, with the national lockdown in the UK being announced on 23 March, just before it began.”
Catax found the utilities sector saw a “much steeper” decline in business investment than the economy overall, potentially due to these companies being heavily reliant on complex networks of physical assets.
“This would have left them more vulnerable to lockdown disruption than some other sectors,” Tighe said.
He added: “It will take some time for business investment to climb back to where it was at the start of the year, when the only threat on the horizon appeared to be Brexit negotiations.
“The speed of that recovery will depend very much on how long the second wave lasts and what disruption is to come.”