UK business insolvencies increase in October 2011
Nottingham, 30 November 2011 - The latest Insolvency Index from Experian® has revealed that 0.10 per cent of the business population became insolvent during October, compared to 0.09 per cent in September 2011 and 0.08 per cent in October 2010.
The South West of England was the best performing region (0.06 per cent) while the West Midlands overtook the North East as the worst performing region with an insolvency rate of 0.13 per cent.
The average financial strength score1 for UK businesses was 78.44 in October. However, large companies saw their financial strength score improve from 84.84 last year to 85.81 in October 2011.
With regard to sectors, businesses in the Oil industry continued to have the highest financial strength score at 83.89 while Food Retailers retained the lowest score (73.75).
Max Firth, UK & Ireland Managing Director for Business Information Services at Experian, comments: “While 0.10 per cent represents a very small percentage of the UK’s business population failing in October, we are seeing an increase in insolvencies across most sizes of business. As a result of this, more and more businesses are now acutely aware of the importance of having a good understanding about the companies they deal with. Using commercial information to gain insight into a customer, partner or supplier’s financial health is a highly effective way to helping businesses make even smarter decisions in today’s environment.”
1The financial strength score predicts the likelihood of a business failing in the next 12 months, with 100 being the least likely to default and 1 being the most likely.
Region |
Insolvencies |
% change from |
% of business population failing |
% of business population failing |
Financial Strength Score |
Financial Strength Score |
Scotland |
93 |
45.31 |
0.08% |
0.05% |
79.56 |
80.81 |
North East |
42 |
-2.33 |
0.10% |
0.11% |
79.49 |
81.22 |
North West |
221 |
0.91 |
0.12% |
0.11% |
77.94 |
80.45 |
Yorkshire |
108 |
-14.29 |
0.09% |
0.10% |
78.58 |
81.04 |
Wales |
44 |
-12.00 |
0.08% |
0.09% |
78.74 |
80.60 |
West Midlands |
247 |
34.97 |
0.16% |
0.11% |
77.90 |
80.12 |
East Midlands |
129 |
40.22 |
0.12% |
0.08% |
79.33 |
81.37 |
Eastern |
137 |
-2.84 |
0.08% |
0.08% |
79.58 |
81.90 |
South West |
95 |
-8.65 |
0.06% |
0.07% |
80.80 |
82.69 |
Greater London |
462 |
17.86 |
0.09% |
0.08% |
76.06 |
79.83 |
South East |
269 |
21.72 |
0.08% |
0.07% |
79.79 |
82.17 |
Grand Total |
1,847 |
12.97 |
0.10% |
0.08% |
78.44 |
81.00 |
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 |
247 |
10.76 |
0.06% |
0.05% |
82.17 |
82.23 |
3-5 |
256 |
0.39 |
0.11% |
0.11% |
81.21 |
81.84 |
6-10 |
214 |
-3.60 |
0.16% |
0.17% |
81.17 |
81.43 |
11-25 |
238 |
-0.83 |
0.23% |
0.23% |
81.16 |
81.17 |
26-50 |
108 |
2.86 |
0.22% |
0.22% |
81.17 |
81.19 |
51-100 |
48 |
-25.00 |
0.17% |
0.24% |
81.22 |
81.05 |
101-500 |
57 |
23.91 |
0.21% |
0.17% |
82.34 |
82.28 |
501+ |
12 |
33.33 |
0.13% |
0.10% |
85.81 |
84.87 |
Unspecified |
667 |
41.61 |
0.07% |
0.05% |
75.05 |
80.12 |
Grand Total |
1,847 |
12.97 |
0.10% |
0.08% |
78.44 |
81.00 |
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 |
- |
-100.00 |
0.00% |
0.07% |
80.26 |
82.44 |
Oil |
1 |
0.00 |
0.04% |
0.03% |
83.89 |
85.86 |
Building & Construction |
240 |
2.13 |
0.15% |
0.14% |
76.15 |
77.49 |
Building Materials |
3 |
-50.00 |
0.08% |
0.16% |
78.50 |
79.81 |
Chemicals Industry |
3 |
-50.00 |
0.11% |
0.22% |
80.39 |
81.80 |
Diversified Industrials |
25 |
-28.57 |
0.12% |
0.16% |
76.83 |
77.91 |
Electricals |
5 |
-50.00 |
0.06% |
0.11% |
78.40 |
79.24 |
Engineering |
59 |
-21.33 |
0.15% |
0.19% |
78.64 |
79.39 |
Printing, Paper & Packaging |
6 |
100.00 |
0.18% |
0.10% |
78.19 |
78.67 |
Textiles & Clothing |
34 |
88.89 |
0.23% |
0.12% |
74.90 |
76.42 |
Breweries |
- |
-100.00 |
0.00% |
0.41% |
75.94 |
79.49 |
Spirits, Wine & Tobacco |
- |
0.00 |
0.00% |
0.00% |
78.59 |
82.68 |
Food Manufacturing |
14 |
40.00 |
0.21% |
0.16% |
76.60 |
77.98 |
Pharmaceuticals |
1 |
-50.00 |
0.08% |
0.16% |
81.78 |
81.84 |
Wholesaling |
77 |
-18.09 |
0.13% |
0.15% |
78.37 |
79.76 |
Leisure & Hotels |
145 |
14.17 |
0.16% |
0.15% |
77.32 |
79.28 |
Media |
35 |
-46.15 |
0.06% |
0.10% |
78.61 |
80.56 |
Food Retailing |
13 |
-7.14 |
0.08% |
0.09% |
73.53 |
75.49 |
Non-Food Retailing |
105 |
16.67 |
0.12% |
0.10% |
76.94 |
78.78 |
Servicing / Repair |
10 |
25.00 |
0.13% |
0.10% |
81.09 |
82.25 |
Transport |
58 |
-17.14 |
0.11% |
0.13% |
77.15 |
78.42 |
Utilities |
2 |
100.00 |
0.08% |
0.04% |
75.95 |
79.67 |
Postal & Telecommunications |
7 |
-12.50 |
0.08% |
0.09% |
73.99 |
76.20 |
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing |
7 |
-22.22 |
0.03% |
0.04% |
83.64 |
85.05 |
Banking & Financial Services |
86 |
28.36 |
0.17% |
0.13% |
82.18 |
83.95 |
Health & Household |
- |
0.00 |
0.00% |
0.00% |
77.65 |
79.05 |
Business Services |
470 |
25.67 |
0.09% |
0.07% |
78.17 |
81.44 |
Hiring & Leasing |
11 |
-56.00 |
0.08% |
0.18% |
80.57 |
81.53 |
Property |
125 |
83.82 |
0.08% |
0.04% |
80.40 |
82.34 |
Other Services |
101 |
23.17 |
0.05% |
0.04% |
83.51 |
85.88 |
Plastics & Rubber |
20 |
25.00 |
0.30% |
0.24% |
77.40 |
78.06 |
Insurance |
25 |
316.67 |
0.22% |
0.05% |
82.82 |
84.22 |
IT |
74 |
27.59 |
0.07% |
0.05% |
80.58 |
83.45 |
Motor Traders |
39 |
21.88 |
0.11% |
0.09% |
78.89 |
80.12 |
Unspecified |
46 |
170.59 |
0.04% |
0.01% |
66.43 |
75.29 |
Grand total |
1,847 |
12.97 |
0.10% |
0.08% |
78.44 |
81.00 |
Source: pH, an Experian company
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