Howard Kennedy Hosts Sport Industry Nextgen Leadership Session

Sport Industry NextGen Leaders attended a virtual session on the impact of COVID-19 hosted by Howard Kennedy.

The Leaders looked at the challenges faced by organisations during the pandemic so far, and talked through threats and opportunities the future will present.

Initial uncertainty hit almost every business following the rapid spread of the virus and the ensuing lockdown, before many were able to settle onto an even keel up until this point.

But the full implications of the pandemic’s economic impact are yet to be felt. Because of government legislation – which saw a temporary ban on the use Winding-Up Petitions (until June 2020) and a short-term pause on evictions, as well as the Job Retention Scheme and the introduction of Business Interruption Loans – many companies were saved in the short term, but many creditors may attempt to recoup losses in the coming months. 

The long-term path the pandemic might take is also uncertain. Promising news regarding vaccines may bring the world back to a normal state in 2021, but planning for that is, as yet, difficult.

The Leaders also discussed capitalising on the opportunities that Covid has presented, such as creating new roles within businesses which needed to adapt to offering digital services or delivering events digitally, as well as the potential for downscaling physical office spaces with a view to more flexible working practices.