UK Business Environment: Impact of Pandemic and Legal Structures

This report examines the evolving business environment in the United Kingdom, focusing on sectors that have prospered and struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the growth of the medicine and health sector, online stock markets, and online grocery delivery services, while also detailing the decline of the airlines and hotel industries. The report further explores various legal structures for businesses, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, private limited companies, and public limited companies, recommending a sole trader structure for a mobile phone business due to its simplicity and low establishment costs. Finally, it touches upon the measurement of competitiveness in the market, considering factors like barriers to entry, rivalry among owners, and the threat of substitutes, and identifies different market structures such as monopoly and perfect competition. Desklib provides more solved assignments for students.

Global Business
Environment

TASK
2 A- Business sectors which will prosper and struggle in future in United Kingdom:
How business is affected by Pandemics-
The following articles tries to explain the impact of pandemic in both positive and negative
aspect on the industrial sector. In the country of United Kingdom the industrial system has
faced a lot of major issues due to the spread of Covid19 due to which it has now entered into
new business ventures with the EU group(Adeyemi, 2018). Covid19 had a fatal change for the
some sectors of the industry which led to losses in the longer run while some prospered and
benefited from it. However there are different methods inculcated which help in economy
enhancement for the various enterprises.
The two different aspects are discussed below which provide in-depth understanding of the
industries in UK-
Major sectors which are emerging and getting successful-
These sectors have grown the demand among the youth and the new job seeking people who are
looking towards shifting their sectors so that they can earn more and can remain successful in
future to enjoy a life which provides security (Balawejder, Sampson and Stratton, 2021) .
 Medicine and Health sector- The pandemic of Covid19 showcased and turned the
focus of the nation towards providing healthcare facilities to the masses which were
lacking till now. This period resulted in the increased demand of the healthcare
professionals and brought to light the importance of having medical facilities with
proper technologies and practitioners who can assist the people in the time of need.
Door to door services of the medicine started and prospered within no time. This is the
reason that this sector has a lot of scope for the coming future because of the reason that
the pharmaceutical companies are now innovating in fighting different viruses. For
example, the AstraZeneca company has collaborated with more than 20 partners in order
to produce vaccine which has helped it gain huge profits.

 Stock Markets operating online- The stock market on the digital medium has gained a
lot of popularity during Covid19. It is increasing with speed due to its increasing new
users who are increasing their interest in investing and trading their part time pays
online(Comber, 2020). This interest has emerged after the buying and sale of shares on a
lower price started due to which this sector is really prospering and gaining identity
among the market. This sector is expected to rise further by 15% in the coming five
years.
 Online delivery of groceries and food items- There is a sudden shift seen in the
behaviour of people while buying food items, they are now opting for online delivery of
these services. The lock-down of eateries and restaurants made the owners choose
delivery options by using medium of internet to reach out to their consumers. This new
step has proved to a boon due to the increased demand emerging among the market. For
example, Uber Eats, Deliveroo prospered due to this pandemic and are expected to grow
even more in the coming time in future due to individuals now preferring to order and
eat then to go physical to a place (Comunian and England, 2020).
Sectors which saw a downfall due to the pandemic in UK-
Most of the sectors have suffered in some or the other way due to Covid19 due to shutdown of
the physical stores and lockdown in certain industries.
 Airlines Industry- The aviation industry has witnessed a major downfall due to
lockdown during pandemic which stopped the transportation by the air medium. The

government imposed restrictions which restrained people from travelling from one
country to another creating huge losses (Lea, 2020). For example, Covid19 led to the
complete closing of the Jet Airways which was going through huge losses. Keeping
airlines requires huge funds and investments which is not possible if revenue is not
generated and due to this pandemic and the emergence of new variants, the airways is
expected to lose even further in the coming time.
 Hotel Industry- Due to lockdown during pandemic the flow of tourists deteriorated
which led to no one preferring to stay in hotels due to the fear of Covid19. The people
chose to stay home rather than staying in the hotel or getting accommodation in rest
houses which has badly impacted this industry leading it towards downfall and losses. If
experts are to be believed this sector will face even more losses in future due to the rise
of new wave of Covid.
Thus, during covid19 while some industries emerged and saw marginal growth but some
industries shrank up-to 90 percent in the two months of lockdown. This time is showing that the
size of the business does not matter but the type of business is what played a major role in
defining profits and losses (Nakat and Bou-Mitri, 2021).
2 B- The Pros and Cons of different legal structures and which would be best for them:
From:

To:
Subject: Recommendation regarding new business of Mobile Phones
Business involves commercial activities which are done to gain profits. It can involve
production of goods or the distribution of services. For an emerging entrepreneur to start their
business, it is essential to understand the different legal structures available and what are their
pros and cons. The different legal structures are as follows:
 Sole Trader- This is the most simplest structure of business which is easier to establish
and operate. It is owned by a single person who has full control over the business and
thus takes independent decisions. The advantages of it are that the sole owner is the one
who gets all the profits, there is no dependency in decision making, there is smooth
functioning due to one person making the judgements,etc. Its disadvantages are being a
single owner the person has to bear all the responsibilities, they are burdened with
financial risks, debts and liabilities, taking out personal time is difficult, etc.
 Partnership- When two or more individuals start a business that is partnership. They
share the roles and responsibilities among them. The partners have limited liabilities due
to the fact that registration is not necessary (Rakha, 2021). The partnership deed is the
only document which includes the details of the capitals which will be shared between
the partners. Its advantages are they have experience and knowledge which can be
shared and prove fruitful, management becomes easier due to shared responsibilities,
etc. Its disadvantages are conflicts can arise due to disagreements of opinion, unlimited
liabilities can create downfall for the business sometimes.
 Private Limited Company- In this structure the members have limited liability with
respect to the amount of assets or shares that one can hold. Small businesses prefer this
type due to easy creation of capital. Its advantages are that there is a separate legal
identity which the owners and the company enjoys, there is no cap on the minimum
requirement of capital, etc. Its disadvantages are it has a cap on the maximum limit of
shareholders which can't be more than 50, it cannot issue its prospectus indicating the
balance sheets of the company in public.
 Public Limited Company- This type of business structure has government control over
it. This company requires minimum seven people for its incorporation. Its advantages

are it has least chances of going bankrupt, easier creation of capital due to investments
and funds, easy transfer of shares. Its disadvantages are high establishment costs,
company needs to comply with legal regulations which is sometimes difficult, etc.
From the given case scenario, the most suitable type of legal structure for the business of
mobile phones seems to be sole trader (Vivchar and Redkva, 2021). Because it has a range of
benefits like low establishment costs, easy operative and management, all the profits go in one
hand, the ownership control rests with a single person. Thus it is recommended that this
structure will be the best option.
Measurement of competitiveness in market:
Every business operator faces rivalry in the market competition which makes it essential to
analyse and measure the competitiveness in the market structure. There are various factors
which impact the competitions like barriers in the entry of new business, rivalry among the
owners, threat of substitutes, etc. New entrants are discouraged from making an entry into the
market which is why they are not able to achieve their desired goals and objectives. Personal
rivalry takes the form of professional rivalry giving rise to bad competition. It is difficult to
gain customers and their loyalty towards new company in the market competition. There are
various alternatives and substitutes available of a single product in the market which creates
competition. These factors help in analysing the competitiveness present in the market
structure. The different forms of market structures that exist are monopoly, Perfect
Competition, Oligopoly, etc.
Thanking You
Yours Sincerely,
ABC

REFERENCES
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exposed precarity in the creative economy. Cultural Trends, 29(2), pp.112-128.
Lea, R., 2020. The coronavirus crisis: recession and modest lockdown relaxation. Arbuthnot
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Rakha, A., et al., 2021. Predicting the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the
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