East Anglia: Region suffers increase in business failures

BUSINESS failures in the East of England rose against the national trend during July, according to figures from information group Experian.

Across the country, a total of 1,776 corporate insolvencies were recorded last month, a fall of 9.5% compared with July 2011.

In the eastern region, however, the monthly total of 164 business failures represented an increase of 8.6%, although failure rate – insolvencies as a percentage of the total business population – was in line with the national average at 0.09%.

In terms of business size, improvements were seen across the board nationally, although the biggest improvements came among the UK’s largest firms, with the failure rate for companies with more than 500 employees falling from 0.15% to 0.08%.

Smaller firms also fared well, with the failure rate among those employing from 11 to 25 people easing from 0.26% last July to 0.19% this year.

By sector, non-food retailing saw the biggest fall, from 0.15% in July 2011 to 0.10% last month. In contrast, the automotive sector saw its failure rate increase, to 0.14% from 0.11% in June 2012 and 0.1% in July last year.

Max Firth, managing director at Experian Business Information Services, said: “Since March this year, when the insolvency rate peaked at 0.11%, it has remained fairly stable – between 0.08% and 0.09%. The lack of any real increase is clearly welcome and this picture is unlikely to change in the near future.

“The figures continue to underline the importance of good insight into the financial risks associated with insolvencies among both clients and suppliers and how these issues can affect their business.”