Small businesses 'biggest losers' from G20 protests

Small businesses in London will have borne the brunt of lost trade due to the G20 protests, according to insurers and business groups.

Insurance company Axa told the Financial Times that the biggest cost to businesses in the capital would be from a loss of trade, which it estimated could reach between £300 million and £500 million.

"The vast majority of these losses will be to small businesses that opened and still had costs to cover," said David Williams, managing director of claims for Axa.

The Federation of Small Businesses said that in the current economic climate, the protests were "the last thing that small businesses needed".

A spokeswoman for the Federation said: "Shops in the city rely heavily on the movement of people to and from work and in their lunch break to create income. In addition to their turnover, many small firms will have had to fork out costs to board up their shop and normal trading may not have picked up until the end of the week."

She added that images of the protests shown around the world might also dissuade tourists from visiting the city, therefore potentially losing small businesses more custom.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers told More Than Business News: "If firms are restricted from accessing their premises due to police cordons then they may be able to claim for certain lost earnings, if they have denial-of-access cover, normally bought as an add-on to commercial package policy."