UK insolvencies rose last month despite a good year-on-year performance
Published: 20 April, 2010
Insolvency rates in the UK rose between February and March this year but overall figures are down compared to 2009, according to Experian.
The Insolvency Index revealed a rise in insolvencies from 0.096 per cent in February 2010 to 0.114 per cent last month. The East Midlands saw the UK’s biggest increase from 0.10 per cent to 0.14 per cent, while Scotland was the only region to see a fall in its insolvency rate.
Despite this blip, the overall year-on-year picture is positive, revealing a significant improvement in most sectors on March 2009, when the rate of insolvencies peaked at 0.13 per cent. In non-food retailing, the rate decreased from 0.22 per cent in March 2009 to 0.14 per cent last month. However, food retailing saw a year-on-year rise from 0.11 per cent to 0.13 per cent.
Rolf Hickmann, managing director of pH, an Experian company, said: “Unlike the last recession, when business insolvencies were more than double the rates witnessed during this recession, the business economy has not been admitted to intensive care. In fact, insolvencies have been coming down since early 2009 and, despite the odd monthly fluctuations, are now far more stable.
“It’s the same picture when you look at the financial strength score. Although this deteriorated slightly in March, along with payment performance, it has been steadily getting back to normal since the economic crisis was at its worst in mid 2008. Despite March’s figures, our data shows that micro businesses, the one and two man-bands, are the most resilient in the UK.”
