UK company insolvencies rise
Company insolvencies in England and Wales rose by an annual 4.3 percent in the first three months of 2012 to their highest level since late 2009, official data showed on Friday, raising doubts about the health of the economy.
The Insolvency Service, a government agency, said that 4,303 businesses went into liquidation in the first quarter of 2012, the highest seasonally adjusted total since the last quarter of 2009, when Britain had just emerged from a deep recession.
Official data last month showed that Britain had entered a shallow recession, though more upbeat business surveys mean that the Bank of England and private-sector economists take a more positive view.
There was better news for individuals, with the number of personal insolvencies 4.7 per cent lower than a year earlier at 28,723 in the first three months of 2012, the lowest total since the last three months of 2008. These figures are not available on a seasonally adjusted basis.