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News Release from: Equifax | Subject: Equifax Business Failures Report
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 09 April 2008
Business failures continue to soar
Equifax Business Failures Report for first quarter 2008 reveals rise of 11% in Construction sector.
The Equifax Business Failures Report for Quarter 1 2008 reveals an increase in business failures across all sectors and regions The Construction sector was among the worst hit, with an 11% increase in businesses going bust
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 15 Dec 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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UK businesses rally in quarter 3 2006.
UK businesses rally in quarter 3 2006but failures continue to rise for the year to date according to the latest Equifax Business Failures Report.
Construction industry business failures down
Construction sector recovers from difficult start to minimise business failures across the year according to 2006 says Equifax Business Failures Report.
Total failures rose by 9.1% compared to the same period last year with only the Manufacturing sector seeing a drop in failures by 2.8% looking at the same quarter in 2007.
Leading business information provider, Equifax warns that the credit crunch is taking its toll on all industry sectors and warns firms to expect a tough year ahead.
"Business failures rose by 11% in the Construction sector year on year, up 7.9 compared to Quarter 4 2007 and following on from a difficult year" explains Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director of Equifax.
Further reading
Business failures hit services sector
Equifax Business Failures Report reveals interest rate rises taking their toll on business in Q3.
Business failures up as credit crunch hits
Equifax Business Failures Report reveals widespread increases across most sectors in Quarter 4 2007.
"The Transport and Communication sector was the worst hit, seeing a substantial 16.3% increase year on year".
"The gloomy picture is further supported by the latest CBI report, which reveals that business volumes fell to a balance of -30%".
"The CBI survey shows firms expect the credit crunch to get worse over the next six months, as they continue to find it difficult to raise funds, restricting business growth".
""Retail shows a further 9% going bust in this quarter compared to 2007 and Services isn't far behind with an increase of 8.3%.
Manufacturing is alone in managing to buck the trend, but in such a tough market, there's not much room for celebration." The regional picture reveals a 21.4% increase in failures in the North West, followed by 20.9% in the East Midlands and 20.3% in Yorkshire and Humberside".
"Only Scotland continues to see a drop in the number of businesses in the region going bust, down 23.8%".
"The South East saw a slight drop of 0.4% compared to the same period in 2007 and a 4.8% drop compared to Quarter 4 2007".
"This is not a good start to the year for most business sectors across the country, with the credit crunch showing no signs of abating" Neil Munroe concludes.
"Banks are going to look at businesses just as closely as they are looking at individuals, making it harder for firms to get funding to pay off debts and bolster cash flow.
With this in mind we urge companies to protect themselves from 'not a good' debt by conducting rigorous credit checks, supported by ongoing monitoring of customers' and suppliers' financial status".
"There are tough times ahead and smaller firms are the most vulnerable to the threat of business failure".
"It only takes one customer going bust to jeopardise a business, but careful monitoring today, can reduce the threat of bad debt tomorrow".
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