ONE in 10 start-ups and growing businesses in Oxford are at severe risk of failing due to the coronavirus crisis, new research shows.

Analyst Beauhurst studied risk factors at 30,000 new and growing businesses looking at whether social distancing measures would stop them providing a service or if they were having to offer products at a reduced cost.

Of the firms in Oxford, 10 per cent were classed as either severely or critically at risk in April.

Read more: Holiday stamp duty- your questioned answered

This means they have either suffered serious disruption to their operations, or are facing an 'existential threat' to their ability to continue trading.

The data tracks start-up businesses alongside so-called scale-ups, which are established companies that have moved beyond their initial phase to focus on growth.

Across the country, 17per cent of start-ups and scale-ups were deemed to be at either severe or critical risk, affecting 615,000 jobs, while a further 36per cent are at moderate risk.

Revealed: Oxford is the sexiest place in entire county

But some businesses could see a positive impact from the pandemic, if they are able to grow their operations or have otherwise seen a surge in demand, with tech companies faring particularly well.

In Oxford, 25per cent of businesses fell into this category, compared to 15per cent across the UK.

The remaining local companies were either moderately at risk (22per cent) or at low risk (43per cent).