Yorkshire businesses resilience continues despite uncertainty

The latest research by insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 shows that the proportion of Yorkshire businesses deemed to be at elevated risk of insolvency in the next 12 months fell by 0.6 per cent between March and April. However, the number of higher risk companies remains high with nearly 99,500 of the almost 225,000 active businesses in the region (44.3 per cent) currently in this category. The figure is slightly above the UK average of 42.7 per cent.

This month, all except one of the key sectors surveyed by R3 in the region saw a fall in levels of businesses at elevated insolvency risk. The sharpest falls were seen among tourism operators with a drop of 3.8 per cent; followed by hotels (-2.1 per cent); technology (-1.1 per cent), transport (-1.5 per cent); and agriculture (-1.3 per cent). Only Yorkshire pubs saw an increase in risk out of the sectors tracked by R3, with a rise of 0.05 per cent.

“After a period of Brexit uncertainty, as well as concerns about the slowing of the global economy and inflationary pressures, it’s good to see almost all sectors in Yorkshire faring better this year. These latest figures are particularly pleasing when compared with the same period of 2018 which saw many months of gradually escalating distress both regionally and across the UK as a whole,” said William Ballmann, R3 council member for Yorkshire and consultant at law firm Gateley.

“While British businesses are still struggling to plan effectively in the face of the unknown, they appear to be weathering the storm for the time being. However, with economic growth in the UK expected to be subdued, as well as the added cash flow pressures of stockpiling ahead of a possible no-deal Brexit, there are still challenging times ahead for many businesses.”