Number of companies falling into administration on the increase in the North

The number of companies falling into administration across the North outpaced the rest of England and Wales between January and March.
Lancashires economy is going through an uncertain periodLancashires economy is going through an uncertain period
Lancashires economy is going through an uncertain period

Those are the disturbing findings of new analysis by accountants KMPG.

Fragile consumer confidence, rising costs and ongoing political and economic uncertainty have been blamed for increasing the pressure on a number of sectors.

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The results reflect the uncertainty in Lancashire, which has been hit by Ikea pulling out of the Cuerden development and Tesco dropping plans for a Penwortham site.

Analysis by KPMG of notices in the London Gazette showed the North had the greatest number of insolvencies, with 113 administrations over the quarter. This compares with London, whose tally stood at 111 for the quarter. The Midlands saw 56 insolvencies and the South saw 53.

Combined, the number of UK companies entering administration jumped from 279 in the final quarter of 2017 to 345 in Q1 2018 – an increase of 66, and the largest quarter-on-quarter increase seen in a number of years.

However, the tally was only a modest increase on the same period last year, which saw 327 insolvencies .

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David Costley-Wood, restructuring partner at KPMG in Manchester commented: “With the first quarter of the year dominated by a number of high profile insolvencies, you would perhaps be forgiven for thinking that the economic winds had changed and that business failures were suddenly rife after years of relative stability. However, when put in the context of only a modest increase on the same period last year, it’s clear that we’re still operating in a relatively stable market.

“It’s certainly not all doom and gloom out there!

“Many of the corporate failures...have taken place in consumer-facing industries – whether that be retailers, both traditional and online, or companies spanning the full breadth of the food and drink sector.”