Yorkshire businesses see success at Christmas

Yorkshire businesses have experienced a success final month before Christmas with the number at higher than normal risk of insolvency falling, above UK averages, according to the latest research by R3, the insolvency trade body.

In December, all but one of the 12 sectors surveyed in Yorkshire, including pubs, restaurants, tourism operators, manufacturing and professional services, have reduced their risk of insolvency compared with the previous month.

Overall, Yorkshire businesses have performed better than the national average, with 24.5% of business having a higher than normal risk of insolvency, compared with a UK average of 25.9%.

In particular, the retail sector is showing strong signs of recovery from the challenges of recent months. The research reveals that the proportion of retailers at higher than normal risk of insolvency fell by 0.72% this month, to around 30%, compared with the UK sector as a whole which saw 31% of retail businesses at higher than normal risk.

According to the figures for December 2015, of the 10,240 retailers active in the region, 3,055 are considered to have a higher than normal risk of insolvency, placing Yorkshire firmly in the middle of the 12 regions surveyed across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland .

Adrian Berry, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and restructuring partner at Deloitte LLP, commented: “It is encouraging to see Yorkshire’s businesses faring well compared with other parts of the country and these latest figures suggest many sectors will be in a good position to start the New Year.

“For retailers, it has been a difficult period with many consumers having held off spending earlier in the month, particularly in the electrical, clothing, furniture and DIY categories, ahead of Black Friday. However, unlike in recent years, we have not seen a spate of pre-Christmas sales which must be a positive sign for the sector.”

In Yorkshire, the professional services sector also showed signs of ongoing recovery, with a fall of nearly 3% of businesses in the sector at higher than normal risk of insolvency, compared with last month. The region’s manufacturers also performed well, ranking second lowest for risk after the West Midlands, with only 20% of the 12,054 active companies considered at higher than normal risk.

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