Yorkshire insolvencies cut by a quarter

THE number of Yorkshire businesses failing in June fell by almost a quarter compared to 12 months ago, according to data published this week.

The fall is almost double that seen nationwide and Yorkshire businesses have also seen a marked reduction in their risk of failing in the future in the “Insolvency Index” published by information services firm Experian.

However, in June Yorkshire continued to see one of the highest rates of failure in the country with 0.12% of businesses declared insolvent compared to 0.07% in the South West.

Rolf Hickman, managing director of business data firm pH Group, an Experian company, 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.

“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 and the risks they could expose them to.”

Nationwide, the proportion of companies with more than 500 employees becoming insolvent doubled although those with between 51 and 100 staff showed the highest rate overall.

The transport sector saw a significant increase in its financial strength rating as well as its insolvency rate almost halve.