COMPANY failures across the UK, and the North West, declined last month, mirroring the national year-on-year picture so far.
The latest insolvency index from business information group Experian showed a 12.5% fall in total insolvencies during February compared with the same period last year, from 1,834 in 2010 to 1,605 this February. That brings the rate of failures down from 0.10% of UK firms to 0.08%.
Across the North West, 194 firms collapsed in February 2011 compared with 245 the previous year, which meant 0.10% of the region’s businesses were hit by failure compared with 0.13% of the total North West business sector a year ago.
Scotland saw the greatest improvement with the lowest insolvency rate of 0.06%, while Wales suffered the biggest increase, to 0.11% from 0.08%. Yorkshire was the worst performing region.
Experian spokesman Max Firth said: “The period of stability for businesses in the UK continues to head in a positive direction overall.”
