Predicting the shape of the UK’s economic recovery once we emerge from the pandemic was never going to be straightforward. Various letters have been reeled off to describe potential scenarios, resulting in a veritable alphabet soup.

Initially, the Treasury and Bank of England focused their efforts on stimulating a rapid “V-shaped” bounce back, hoping to avoid a more painful and prolonged L-shaped recovery. With swathes of the country back in lockdown, talk of a “W-shape” surfaced.  Elsewhere, though, there are fears that what we’re actually seeing is a widening gulf between the winners and losers — what is otherwise known as a “K-shaped” recovery.