Largest companies buck national trend in July with drop in insolvencies
Nottingham, 24 August 2011 - The latest Insolvency Index from Experian®, the global information services company, has revealed that the largest companies in the country – those employing 501 or more employees – experienced a year on year drop in insolvencies in July 2011. Thirteen per cent fewer large firms failed during July 2011 compared to July 2010.
Looking at the overall UK business population, the national rate of insolvencies increased with 0.10 per cent of firms failing in July 2011, up from 0.08 per cent in July 2010. The insolvency rate is calculated by comparing the number of businesses that failed with the total business population in Great Britain.
The overall financial strength score of businesses in the UK dropped from 80.93 in July 2010 to 79.84 in July this year. However, large companies saw their financial strength score improve from 84.20 to 86.13.
Businesses employing 51-100 people experienced the biggest annual increase in insolvencies, with the proportion of businesses failing growing from 0.15 per cent in July 2010 to 0.22 per cent in July this year. Firms with 11-25 employees saw the highest percentage of businesses fail in July 2011 (0.26 per cent of the population).
The North West of England saw 0.14 per cent of its firms fail, more than any other region. Scotland maintained the lowest insolvency rate with 0.07 per cent, while Yorkshire maintained its July 2010 insolvency rate of 0.13 per cent.
Max Firth, Managing Director of Experian Business Information Services, said: “When a large company becomes insolvent it can create a domino effect in the surrounding economy, so the improvement in insolvency rates with firms with more than 500 employees is good news. However, this doesn’t lessen the need for all organisations, regardless of their size or sector, to be mindful of the risks their customers, suppliers and partners can expose them to. It is vital that businesses fully understand the financial strength of those they do business with by checking their commercial credit score and late payment trends.”
Region |
Insolvencies |
% change from |
% of business population failing |
% of business population failing |
Financial Strength Score |
Financial Strength Score |
Scotland |
87 |
61.11 |
0.07% |
0.05% |
80.50 |
80.81 |
North East |
44 |
25.71 |
0.11% |
0.09% |
80.54 |
81.07 |
North West |
263 |
61.35 |
0.14% |
0.09% |
79.27 |
80.37 |
Yorkshire |
150 |
1.35 |
0.13% |
0.13% |
79.86 |
81.01 |
Wales |
54 |
38.46 |
0.10% |
0.07% |
79.94 |
80.52 |
West Midlands |
173 |
27.21 |
0.11% |
0.09% |
79.23 |
79.96 |
East Midlands |
110 |
12.24 |
0.10% |
0.09% |
80.48 |
81.27 |
Eastern |
151 |
17.97 |
0.08% |
0.07% |
80.83 |
81.85 |
South West |
136 |
19.30 |
0.09% |
0.07% |
81.87 |
82.62 |
Greater London |
485 |
20.65 |
0.10% |
0.08% |
78.02 |
79.75 |
South East |
309 |
37.33 |
0.10% |
0.07% |
81.03 |
82.14 |
Grand Total |
1,962 |
27.24 |
0.10% |
0.08% |
79.84 |
80.93 |
Source: pH, an Experian company
Number of employees |
Insolvencies |
% change from |
% of business population failing |
% of business population failing |
Financial Strength Score |
Financial Strength Score |
1-2 |
289 |
28.44 |
0.07% |
0.05% |
82.60 |
82.11 |
3-5 |
302 |
40.47 |
0.13% |
0.10% |
81.74 |
81.83 |
6-10 |
281 |
30.09 |
0.21% |
0.17% |
81.64 |
81.36 |
11-25 |
262 |
9.62 |
0.26% |
0.24% |
81.46 |
81.00 |
26-50 |
111 |
32.14 |
0.23% |
0.18% |
81.34 |
80.88 |
51-100 |
61 |
48.78 |
0.22% |
0.15% |
81.32 |
80.58 |
101-500 |
40 |
33.33 |
0.15% |
0.11% |
82.55 |
81.81 |
501+ |
14 |
-12.50 |
0.15% |
0.17% |
86.13 |
84.20 |
Unspecified |
602 |
26.47 |
0.07% |
0.05% |
77.37 |
80.11 |
Grand Total |
1,962 |
27.24 |
0.10% |
0.08% |
79.84 |
80.93 |
Source: pH, an Experian company
Sector |
Insolvencies |
% change from |
% of business population failing |
% of business population failing |
Financial Strength Score |
Financial Strength Score |
Extractive Industries |
2 |
-33.33 |
0.14% |
0.21% |
81.61 |
82.42 |
Oil |
5 |
400.00 |
0.18% |
0.03% |
85.33 |
85.64 |
Building & Construction |
305 |
12.55 |
0.19% |
0.16% |
77.10 |
77.48 |
Building Materials |
5 |
-16.67 |
0.14% |
0.16% |
79.28 |
79.69 |
Chemicals Industry |
3 |
-40.00 |
0.11% |
0.18% |
81.23 |
81.58 |
Diversified Industrials |
52 |
44.44 |
0.25% |
0.17% |
77.61 |
77.73 |
Electricals |
16 |
45.45 |
0.18% |
0.13% |
79.08 |
79.12 |
Engineering |
70 |
22.81 |
0.18% |
0.14% |
79.24 |
79.27 |
Printing, Paper & Packaging |
5 |
0.00 |
0.15% |
0.17% |
78.36 |
78.22 |
Textiles & Clothing |
23 |
-8.00 |
0.16% |
0.18% |
75.76 |
76.42 |
Breweries |
0 |
0 |
0.00% |
0.00% |
77.79 |
79.64 |
Spirits, Wine & Tobacco |
0 |
0 |
0.00% |
0.00% |
80.43 |
82.56 |
Food Manufacturing |
7 |
250.00 |
0.11% |
0.03% |
77.45 |
77.75 |
Pharmaceuticals |
1 |
0.00 |
0.08% |
0.08% |
82.01 |
81.55 |
Wholesaling |
88 |
8.64 |
0.14% |
0.13% |
79.19 |
79.64 |
Leisure & Hotels |
141 |
30.56 |
0.16% |
0.13% |
78.53 |
79.13 |
Media |
52 |
-1.89 |
0.08% |
0.08% |
79.63 |
80.60 |
Food Retailing |
16 |
45.45 |
0.10% |
0.07% |
74.77 |
75.68 |
Non-Food Retailing |
126 |
41.57 |
0.15% |
0.11% |
78.03 |
78.74 |
Servicing / Repair |
10 |
100.00 |
0.13% |
0.06% |
81.97 |
82.16 |
Transport |
66 |
13.79 |
0.13% |
0.11% |
78.09 |
78.32 |
Utilities |
2 |
0 |
0.08% |
0.00% |
77.61 |
79.63 |
Postal & Telecommunications |
12 |
-20.00 |
0.15% |
0.18% |
75.48 |
76.17 |
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing |
12 |
100.00 |
0.06% |
0.03% |
84.41 |
85.00 |
Banking & Financial Services |
77 |
11.59 |
0.15% |
0.13% |
83.09 |
84.00 |
Health & Household |
0 |
0 |
0.00% |
0.00% |
78.37 |
79.44 |
Business Services |
460 |
31.43 |
0.09% |
0.07% |
79.92 |
81.36 |
Hiring & Leasing |
22 |
57.14 |
0.16% |
0.10% |
81.32 |
81.41 |
Property |
109 |
43.42 |
0.07% |
0.05% |
81.15 |
82.43 |
Other Services |
101 |
74.14 |
0.05% |
0.03% |
84.75 |
85.78 |
Plastics & Rubber |
26 |
333.33 |
0.39% |
0.09% |
77.87 |
77.97 |
Insurance |
36 |
140.00 |
0.32% |
0.13% |
83.87 |
83.98 |
IT |
57 |
3.64 |
0.05% |
0.05% |
82.17 |
83.46 |
Motor Traders |
36 |
2.86 |
0.10% |
0.10% |
79.76 |
79.90 |
Unspecified |
19 |
26.67 |
0.02% |
0.01% |
69.98 |
75.03 |
Grand total |
1,962 |
27.24 |
0.10% |
0.08% |
79.84 |
80.93 |
Source: pH, an Experian company
ENDS
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