Small firms need a year to recover from pandemic A survey of 500 SMEs by Nucleus Commercial Finance finds that small firms believe it will take an average of a year for their business to make up for lost revenue caused by the coronavirus crisis. The study indicated medium-sized businesses are most confident about their recovery while younger business owners are more optimistic about making up lost revenue. Chirag Shah, chief executive of Nucleus Commercial Finance, said: “While the trepidations of the pandemic and subsequent restrictions will have lasting effects for many British businesses, it's encouraging to see such optimism among SMEs about their projected finances as they return to business as usual.”