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5 years since lockdown

ended 21. March 2025

Sunday marks five years since then Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown during the pandemic. We're looking for businesses who are still being influenced by the pandemic in some shape or form. For example, your staff might still be working fully remotely having never gone back to the office — or you're still paying off a bounce back loan. Or it may be that you pivoted your model slightly during the pandemic, or even set up an entirely new business, and have not looked back since. Any business insights, stories or anecdotes five years on from us all being told to stay indoors and WFH wherever possible, let us know. Deadline is fairly tight - 11am.

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Tony Redondo
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
Initially, I was incredulous. Britain survived two world wars without lockdowns, so how could we lock down from a virus? Yet we did lockdown, and its impact still echoes in how we work, grow, and adapt. Some of my clients shifted to permanent remote work, hiring globally and broadening their expertise. Others signed up to the Bounce Back Loans and survived with some still repaying this debt. This is now limiting their growth opportunities and is keeping them in a cautious, survival-focused mindset. Many pivoted their models successfully, never reverting, while many new ventures were born in the lockdown chaos and have gone on to thrive by filling gaps left by the upheaval. Necessity drove innovation that by and large endures.
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Debbie Porter
Managing Director at Destination Digital Marketing
I built my business from the glowing embers left behind as a result of the chaos that lockdown caused. Having burned everything to the ground, and started again at a time when it seemed like it was the end of the world as we knew it, created an opportunity for me to move forward with no expectation of success. This was quite a freeing experience, which in the light of the misery that surrounded us all through that period of time, was actually quite refreshing. 5 years on and with the benefit of hindsight it feels like it was absolutely the best thing to have happened (though, to be clear, I wouldn’t want to sign up and go through all of that again!)
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Legend
Jenny Blyth
Small business owner at Storm in a Teacup Gifts
In some respects, our business thrived during lockdown. We are an online gift shop with a great community that follows it and I think everyone benefited from having that extra support. Our online community helped and supported not just each other but we also raised over £200 to buy much needed treats for the team in our local Covid ward at Barnet Hospital. We also became the local Easter bunny leaving treats out on the doorsteps. We became very much more than just a shop, we were a safety net and I’m very proud of that. Although the need for that support has lessened in some respects, we still retain the same camaraderie and it’s a great place to be.
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Richard O'Connor
Director at First Mats
For us, Lockdown was a chance to move the business forward. While First Mats specialises in floor mats, we saw that our business customers also needed a range of related products, ones we could potentially provide. So, we brought together a small team of individuals working remotely and, together with us, worked incredibly hard to find new suppliers, create fresh content, and expand our range from around 300 mats to over 3,000 commercial and industrial products. Although we've since streamlined the range slightly, many of those additions remain an important part of what we offer today.