THE rate of business failures in the East of England edged higher last month, according to figures from information services company Experian.

A total of 106 business insolvencies were recorded in the region during the month, an increase of 22.64% compared with August last year.

The rate of increase was roughly in line with that seen in Greater London (18.47%) and the rest of the South East (25.89%), and compares favourable with the worst-hit areas, the North East (65.38%) and Scotland (51.39%).

At the other end of the scale, however, the East Midlands saw the number of business failures fall by 18.18% and Yorkshire recorded a decrease of 21.05%.

The rate of business failures in the East (insolvencies as a percentage of the total number of businesses) grew to 0.07%, from 0.06% in August 2010, although it remains the joint second lowest rate in the country, level with Greater London and the East Midlands and behind only the South West on 0.06%.

And the region’s overall “Financial Strength” score from Experian is the third-highest in the UK at 80.26, down from 81.94 a year ago but stronger than all other regions except the South West (81.37) and the South East (80.48).

The national insolvency rate of 0.08% last month, although up from 0.07% a year earlier, was the lowest since February.

The failure rate among larger companies, with more than 500 employees, fell sharply year on year, from 0.14% to 0.09%, but this was more than offset by increases among smaller firms.

Max Firth, managing director of Experian Business Information Services, said: “While insolvency rates in August were the lowest since February 2011, our analysis shows that regional variances continue to underline the importance of closely monitoring the financial health of the suppliers and customers that companies do business with.”