THE value of goods and services in the South East has fallen by 35 per cent per day during the coronavirus lockdown, according to a new report.

Research by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economic and Business Research for UK Powerhouse found that the region has suffered a loss of £393 million every day in the value of the goods and services it produces (GVA).

Although the fall in value is significant, the South East is one of the regions faring better, with only London retaining more of its GVA per day.

Victoria Brackett, chief executive of Irwin Mitchell’s Business Services division, said: “Although in absolute terms the South East economy is losing almost £400 million a day, in relative terms it has fared better than many regions in the UK. One of the reasons for this is because it has the highest share of the workforce who worked from home before the virus started spreading.

“For these people, it’s likely that their ability to work from home will continue on a fairly usual basis, and they would have been well set up at the start of the lockdown, with space and equipment.”