Pandemic Pressures Threaten 4,000 Small U.K. Finance Firms

Britain’s market watchdog warned about 4,000 small financial firms are at greater risk of failure from the coronavirus as the country endures a third lockdown.

The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday that the pandemic is pushing the firms to the brink by depleting their liquidity. The survey of 23,000 businesses was carried out between June and August, before the government extended its furlough programs and rolled out vaccinations, and the regulator said it will continue to monitor the pressure on companies.

“Our role isn’t to prevent firms failing,” Sheldon Mills, the FCA’s executive director of consumers and competition, said ...