Business insolvencies in August remain stable

Business insolvencies in August remain stable


Mid-sized firms see lowest insolvency rate since December 2007
Firms in Scotland and Yorkshire faring the best

24 September 2012 – The latest Business Insolvency Index from Experian®, the global information services company, today revealed a continued stable picture. During August, 1,723 companies (0.09 per cent of the business population) failed - the same rate as in July 2012 - and similar to the August 2011 figures when 0.08 per cent (or 1,563 companies) failed.  

Notable improvements came from mid-sized firms. In the 26-50 employee bracket there was a change from 0.21 per cent in August last year to 0.15 per cent this August – their lowest insolvency rate since December 2007. Continuing the positive trend shown in July, firms in the 11-25 employee bracket also did well – down from 0.21 per cent last August to 0.08 per cent this year.

Max Firth, Managing Director, Experian Business Information Services, UK&I said: “Since March we’ve seen insolvency rates flatten out, which is a positive and welcome trend. In addition, we’ve seen real pockets of improvement, such as in Scotland and Yorkshire, which have been sustained over a number of months now.

“But firms cannot afford to be complacent. They need to continue sensible financial practices such as risk planning and monitoring their financial health and those of their customers and suppliers.”
 
Scotland continues its good run
Building on its improvement since January 2012, Scottish firms continued to do well in August, with an insolvency rate of 0.06 per cent compared to 0.09 per cent in August 2011. This represented a slight increase on its lowest ever figure in July, but was still the most improved out of the regions in August compared to a year ago.

The picture in Yorkshire was also relatively good compared to the rest of the UK – with a fall in its insolvency rate from 0.10 per cent in August last year down to 0.08 per cent in August 2012. It also saw a fall from this July’s figure of 0.11 per cent – the biggest month-on-month drop of all UK regions.

Sector view
Out of the top ten largest sectors in the UK, Leisure and Hotels fared best, with a drop in the insolvency rate from 0.15 per cent in August 2011 to 0.12 per cent in August 2011 – better than all of the other sectors.

A number of larger sectors saw their insolvency rates increase marginally year-on-year, but the largest increase was in the Banking and Finance sector, which saw an increase from 0.08 per cent in August last year to 0.12 per cent this year, although this was also a drop from the rate of 0.13 per cent in July this year.

Area

Insolvencies

Aug-12

% change from

Aug-11

% of business population failing Aug-12

% of business population failing Aug-11

Scotland

                         77

-29.4

0.06%

0.09%

North East

                         52

20.9

0.12%

0.11%

North West

                       190

0.5

0.10%

0.10%

Yorkshire

                       106

-11.7

0.08%

0.10%

Wales

                         55

19.6

0.09%

0.08%

West Midlands

                       154

-6.1

0.10%

0.11%

East Midlands

                         97

19.8

0.09%

0.07%

Eastern

                       151

16.2

0.08%

0.07%

South West

                       112

20.4

0.07%

0.06%

London

                       508

49.4

0.10%

0.07%

South East

                       221

-10.9

0.07%

0.08%

Grand Total

                    1,723

10.2

0.09%

0.08%

Source: pH, an Experian company

 

Employment

Insolvencies

Aug-12

% change from

Aug-11

% of business population failing Aug-12

% of business population failing Aug-11

0

 598

28.33

0.06%

0.05%

1-2

 231

-0.86

0.05%

0.05%

3-5

 273

15.19

0.12%

0.11%

6-10

 263

14.35

0.19%

0.17%

11-25

 193

-9.39

0.18%

0.21%

26-50

 73

-27.00

0.15%

0.21%

51-100

 52

18.18

0.19%

0.16%

101-500

 35

9.38

0.13%

0.12%

501+

 5

-37.50

0.06%

0.09%

Source: pH, an Experian company

Sector

Insolvencies

Aug-12

% change from

Aug-11

% of business population failing Aug-12

% of business population failing Aug-11

Extractive Industries

1

                              -  

0.07%

0.07%

Oil

2

-  66.7

0.07%

0.22%

Building and Construction

293

                          10.6

0.17%

0.16%

Building Materials

3

-  70.0

0.08%

0.27%

Chemicals Industry

0

- 100.0

0.00%

0.04%

Diversified Industrials

36

- 20.0

0.17%

0.22%

Electricals

11

- 15.4

0.12%

0.14%

Engineering

50

                          38.9

0.12%

0.09%

Printing, Paper and Packaging

5

                              -  

0.15%

0.15%

Textiles and Clothing

21

                          16.7

0.14%

0.12%

Breweries

0

                              -  

0.00%

0.00%

Spirits, Wine and Tobacco

1

                              -  

0.20%

0.00%

Food Manufacturing

6

- 33.3

0.09%

0.14%

Pharmaceuticals

3

- 40.0

0.23%

0.39%

Wholesaling

54

- 15.6

0.09%

0.10%

Leisure and Hotels

109

-18.7

0.12%

0.15%

Media

51

                            6.3

0.08%

0.08%

Food Retailing

14

-17.6

0.08%

0.11%

Non-Food Retailing

115

                          36.9

0.13%

0.10%

Servicing/Repair

7

-  46.2

0.09%

0.17%

Transport

56

- 1.8

0.10%

0.11%

Utilities

4

                              -  

0.14%

0.17%

Postal and Telecommunications

6

- 14.3

0.07%

0.08%

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

8

- 20.0

0.04%

0.05%

Banking and Financial Services

59

                          47.5

0.12%

0.08%

Health and Household

1

                              -  

0.12%

0.00%

Business Services

447

                          28.1

0.08%

0.07%

Hiring and Leasing

14

                          27.3

0.10%

0.08%

Property

95

                          14.5

0.06%

0.06%

Other Services

103

                              -  

0.04%

0.05%

Plastics & Rubber

14

                          75.0

0.21%

0.12%

Insurance

17

                          30.8

0.15%

0.11%

IT

65

                          35.4

0.06%

0.05%

Motor Traders

34

-  2.9

0.09%

0.10%

Unspecified

18

- 14.3

0.01%

0.02%

Grand Total

1,723

                          10.2

0.09%

0.08%

Source: pH, an Experian company

Contact:
Ms Serj Heera 
PR Manager
0115 992 2773/07837 652169
serjeet.heera@uk.experian.com

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