A small rise in insolvency levels across Yorkshire and Humber in December coupled with fewer new business start-ups has been described as a double whammy for the region.
Research by insolvency and restructuring body R3 shows the insolvency-related activities across the region, including liquidator and administrator appointments and creditors’ meetings, were up by 5% from 220 in November to 231 in December. At the same time, business start-ups fell by 16%, following the same decline in November and meaning the region had 3,235 new start-ups.
Insolvency levels followed a similar pattern in most UK regions apart from Scotland which saw a 32% drop and the South East which saw a 4% fall. The North East saw the largest increase at 60% while Greater London followed at 25%.
R3’s research using data from credit checking provider Creditsafe showed the falling start-up level in Yorkshire and Humber fitted with a national trend in which every UK region saw double-digit percentage declines in December. That included a 10% fall in the West Midlands and a 17% decline in the East Midlands.
Dave Broadbent, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and partner at Begbies Traynor in York and Teesside, said: “December’s double whammy of increased insolvency-related activity and the falling numbers of new business start-ups is extremely concerning and comes as we are also seeing levels of UK business confidence plummet to their lowest since the 2022 mini-budget. Rising costs and taxes are putting firms under immense pressure and unfortunately that increased burden looks to be already having a negative effect on hard-pressed businesses as well as deterring new start-ups.
“While there may be a period of readjustment to new measures such as the hike in employers’ National Insurance contributions announced in the Government’s Autumn budget, we always advise any businesses that have financial issues that are becoming a problem to seek professional help earlier rather than later to ensure the best outcome possible.”
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
