'Fewer firms go bankrupt'

News Article - 09 June 2009
Category: Business

The number of firms going bankrupt fell by 4.2 per cent over the second quarter of this year, compared with same period in 2006, figures have shown.

According to the latest data from the Insolvency Service, the number also dropped by 2.1 per cent on the previous quarter.

Over the quarter, some 3,032 companies went into liquidation, of which 1,349 were compulsory, marking a rise of 12.4 per cent. The number of voluntary bankruptcies by creditors stood at 1,682 - a yearly decrease of 14.4 per cent.

Simon Longfield, a partner in Grant Thornton's recovery and reorganisation department said: "Recent benign economic conditions have certainly played a key part in seeing corporate insolvency levels fall to their lowest level in over two years."

But he added that the downward trend was unlikely to last.

Meanwhile, personal insolvencies stood at 26,956 for the second quarter, decreasing by 8.1 per cent compared with the previous period but marking a rise of 4.2 per cent on the same period last year.

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