UK insolvency down as business picks up
INDICATIONS that the UK’s business community is starting to stabilise have come from new data that shows the number of company insolvencies in June has declined by more than 13 per cent from last year.
Information from data services group Experian shows that 1,771 UK businesses failed last month down from the 2,044 that became insolvent in June last year.
Experian said the overall financial strength of UK businesses has also improved but that a geographical divide between the North and South continues to exist.
Rolf Hickman, managing director of Experian’s pH Group said: “June’s data indicates that the UK’s business community as a whole is stabilising, however it also points to the existence of a north versus south divide. Businesses in the north of England seem to be faring slightly worse than their southern counterparts across all industry sectors.”
Scottish companies continue to feel the bite of the recession as the number of insolvencies climbed by 0.08 per cent to 98 from 73 failures during June last year.
Businesses located in Greater London, however, had an insolvency rate of just 0.08 per cent last month, with 401 company failures, as the capital continues to see a return to business confidence.
Meanwhile, the number of insolvencies amongst the UK’s largest businesses almost doubled last month compared with last year as the knock on effects of the global downturn continued to take its toll.
Companies employing over 500 people made up for 0.14 per cent of the total failures in the UK last month after 13 businesses went under. The smallest business fared the best and saw fewer insolvencies.
“Although the data hints at some improvements, individual organisations are impacted in different ways. It is vital for businesses to understand the circumstances of those they are doing business with,” said Hickman.