How Yorkshire businesses accounted for 10 per cent of administrations in the first six months of the year

More than 620 businesses, 61 of which came from Yorkshire, filed for administration between January 1 and June 30, 2022, marking a 60 per cent increase compared to 2021.

Construction, manufacturing and retail were the sectors worst hit, accounting for 40 per cent of administrations.

Greater London led the way with 22 per cent of the filings, followed by the South East, 17 per cent, and North West, 15 per cent.

Yorkshire sat in fourth place alongside the East of England, data from The Gazette Official Public Record showed.

While administrations nationally are still yet to hit pre-Covid levels, when they were 940 in the first six months of 2019, recession fears and the financial pressure on households and businesses means the worst is still yet to come, an insolvency and restructuring expert has warned.

Andy Taylor, partner and head of restructuring at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Administrations were suppressed during Covid due to the introduction of numerous measures, such as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the subsequent Recovery Loan Scheme and a general prohibition on many forms of enforcement.

“As those support packages have been removed, we have seen an increase in insolvencies generally, which is to be expected.

“Businesses are facing numerous headwinds – from inflation and interest rises to the challenging political landscape at home and further afield. There are a lot of businesses with endemic problems they have been sitting on for months and, in some cases, years. If things continue as they are, we expect to see an increase in businesses failures as they attempt to address their underlying issues and battle tough trading conditions.

“We’re also anticipating the banks will review their portfolios and it may be they will be taking a more cautious approach to lending decisions in the short to medium term.

“We are also seeing more enforcement and less flexibility from HMRC.

“There is no doubt a rocky road ahead – with some commentators predicting a demand-led recession, which looks very different to what we experienced coming out of Covid.”