New car sales in the UK tumbled by an annual 89% in May, according to industry figures, a slight improvement on April’s collapse of 97%.

Preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that 20,247 new vehicles were registered last month. That was up from 4,321 in April but remains just a fraction of the 183,724 sold in May 2019.

Sales were down 51.4% in the first five months of this year as coronavirus restrictions came into effect from the end of March, severely limiting sales.

Car showrooms in England have only been able to re-open to customers since the beginning of this week, while those in Scotland remain closed. However, some vehicles were delivered direct to customers during April and May.

Banks bracing for wave of loan defaults

UK lenders are being asked by the Bank of England to give details on their expected losses on loans due to the coronavirus crisis as the sector is braced for a wave of borrower defaults.

Sam Woods, deputy governor at the Bank and chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said the PRA plans to gather the information from firms ahead of their half-year results this summer.

It comes as the Bank recently estimated that loan losses could hit £80 billion by the end of 2021, though it assured last month that UK banks were strong enough to keep lending to households and businesses throughout the crisis.

But Britain is heading for its worst recession in 300 years after the coronavirus lockdown shut down swathes of the UK and global economy, which will see soaring job losses and rising numbers of borrowers falling behind with debt repayments.

Figures from UK Finance show 1.86 million mortgage payment holidays had been issued as of May 28, equating to one in six mortgages. Some banks have already begun revealing the impact of loan losses, with HSBC warning in April that bad debts could hit £8.8bn this year due to the pandemic.

Environmental summit to shape sustained Scottish recovery

An environmental summit featuring 50 industry and scientific leaders will look at how Scotland can build a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.

The online Green Recovery Summit is being hosted by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) and aims to influence the Scottish Government's strategy for economic recovery after the pandemic.

Delegates including transport bosses, industrial leaders and academics are expected to discuss and prioritise considerations such as financing a green recovery and sustainable procurement. They will then make recommendations to the Scottish Government.

Speaking ahead of Monday's conference, RSGS chief executive Mike Robinson said: "The coronavirus pandemic has transformed our societies both nationally and globally, and we have borrowed a huge amount of money to get us through this crisis.

"It is vital we use this coming period to build and shape our continuing emergence from this crisis in a way that ensures we best protect ourselves from any future ones.”