Insolvency figures suggest North-South divide

We all know this year has been pretty disappointing, as far as recovery is concerned - but now figures by Experian show that it’s been more disappointing for some than others. The data company has found that a North-South divide has emerged when it comes to insolvencies. Thus, while the number of companies calling in the administrators during October and November actually fell for London and the South East, in the country’s northern regions, things looked decidedly more grim.

According to the figures, during November, the highest number of insolvencies were in the North West, where 0.14% of businesses had to call in the administrators, while the North East and Yorkshire also suffered, with insolvency figures of 0.13% and 0.11% respectively. In the South, on the other hand, things were positively peachy by comparison: the South East led the table, with just 0.7% of companies slipping into insolvency, while 0.08% of businesses in both the South West and Greater London went out of business. Which puts the average fall at about 0.9%, or 1,736 firms month-on-month - just a smidge lower than October’s figure of 0.10%. Although admittedly, that figure’s higher than November 2010’s figure of 0.07% ...Read more