Corporate insolvencies continue to decline, new figures show

Posted 06/04/2011

New figures published by PwC have shown that corporate insolvency is continuing to fall as 2011 progresses.

The organisation found that 3,657 companies became insolvent in the first three months of the year, down by 4.5 per cent on the level seen in the final quarter of 2010.

This was also a decrease of 14 per cent when compared with the first three months of last year.

Construction, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and real estate continued to be worst affected by insolvency, although all of these sectors did show an improvement over quarter one of 2010.

PwC business recovery services spokesperson Mike Jervis said: “Persistently low interest rates, increased time to pay agreements by HMRC and a supportive attitude from secured lenders … have all helped.”

However, he added that the figures should not lead to complacency, as the UK is not out of the woods yet economy-wise.

Last month, Experian’s Insolvency Index showed that the number of businesses facing insolvency fell by ten per cent in January 2011.