October 2020 was the biggest billing month for Pimlico in the 41-year history of the company with sales in excess of £4.6 million, and the phones are still ringing off the hook. So why am I not happy?
The answer is that what we are seeing isn’t great news because the only explanation for what’s happening on our balance sheet is the country is bleeding out. Many businesses have gone to the wall or are being artificially kept alive by one government bung or another.
Many people have lost their jobs and are wondering how they will get to Christmas, rather than looking forward to it.
Those with jobs and some financial reserves are having one last hurrah, getting essential and non-essential jobs done while they can, or even perhaps attempting to avoid thinking about the medium-term consequences of Covid will be come 2021 by installing a new bathroom or kitchen.
Whatever way I look at the Pimlico receipts for this October all I can think about is what’s going to happen to the wider economy next year, and in the coming 5-10 years as we attempt to rebuild and pay back the huge amount the government has spent on job retention schemes.
As a company, Pimlico will be okay with so much of what we do falling into the ‘essential work’ category, which of course is why we will be offering our full service throughout this latest lockdown.
Last month’s result is half a million more than October 2019, and £100,000 above our previous all-time busiest month of November 2018 when we were visited by the storm known as the ‘Beast from the East’. After recouping much of the revenue, we lost out on during the first lockdown in Q3 Pimlico I was optimistic that we might finish 2020 with sales similar to 2019. However, with this new lockdown that now looks unlikely.
Looking forward to 2021 at a macro-level there is no chance that having shipped so much debt and unemployment into the economy we can realistically expect to escape without consequences hitting us next year. Sadly, these will now include a second dip into recession, irrespective of whether we get on top of the virus in the coming months.
