THE North West has bucked a trend of a fall in small firm failures, new figures reveal.

Information services company Experian reported a small improvement in insolvency rates among small and medium-sized enterprises during April, compared with last year.

Nationally, 1,808 companies failed in April, which was a 0.55% improvement.

The East and West Midlands and Wales enjoyed the best recovery rates, showing reductions of 36.21%, 19.07% and 17.54%, respectively, in company failures.

However, the North West suffered a slight increase in small firm insolvencies for the period, as 218 companies collapsed, which was a 0.93% rise on the same monthly period last year.

On a sector basis, the property industry fared worst with a significant 70.37% year-on-year increase in business failures during April when 184 property firms failed, representing 0.12% of the sector.

In contrast, the diversified industrial sector recorded 47.54% fewer business failures, wholesale 31.11%, media 15.38%, and the motor trade 13.79%.

Smaller businesses enjoyed the biggest improvement in failure rates, the latest figures reveal, with firms employing between 26 and 50 staff showing 24.59% less insolvencies.

That compares with a 4.44% year-on- year increase among firms in the medium-sized category, employing between 101 and 500 staff, and a 9.09% rise in company failures affecting larger organisations which employ more than 501 workers.