Yorkshire and the Humber sees month-on-month fall in insolvency-related activities

The research from insolvency and restructuring trade body R3, which is based on an analysis of data provided by CreditSafe, shows that while 267 businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber suffered from insolvency-related activities in August, this fell to 232 in September – the lowest number in the region since January. The figures show the second largest drop of any of the regions and nations in the UK.

Eleanor Temple, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and a barrister at Kings Chambers in Leeds, said: “While is it somewhat reassuring to see the region holding its own with a drop in insolvency-related activity last month, other indicators of economic distress, such as a fall in business start-ups and an increase in late payments, are slowly but surely on the rise, both here and across the rest of the UK.

“With the squeeze on consumer spending continuing to stifle economic growth, the region’s businesses should prepare for some challenging times.

Yorkshire and the Humber was one of eight regions and nations in the UK which saw a month-on-month drop in insolvency-related activities. Only four others saw a rise or numbers remaining the same, with the South East experiencing the most dramatic escalation, up by 52.5 per cent since the previous month.

The data also indicates, however, that Yorkshire and the Humber suffered from a fall-off in the number of business start-ups, decreasing from 4,397 in August to 3,950 in September – a drop of 10.2 per cent.

The region is also seeing other indicators of business distress worsening such as late payment of invoices rising from 51,835 in August to 51,962 in September.