There was almost a 3% drop in the number of businesses going bust in April compared to March.
The figures, published in the Business Failures Report by credit-reporting company Equifax, are a much-needed boost to a business community anxious about the spectre of national bankruptcy following the Greek crisis and the prospect of a hung parliament.
The construction and retail sectors performed particularly well, posting drops in failure rates of 12% and 9% respectively
The construction and retail sectors performed particularly well, posting drops in failure rates of 12% and 9% respectively. The worst performing was the wholesale sector, which recorded almost 3% more failures in April compared to March.
Businesses in the North East recorded the largest falls regionally, closely followed by London and the East Midlands. Yorkshire and Humberside, Wales and the East of England are the only regions to see a rise in the number of businesses going bust.
Neil Munroe, external affairs director at Equifax, says: “There is much speculation about the outcome of the general election as voters go to the polls tomorrow.
“But it appears from our figures that uncertainty about the outcome hasn’t caused too much distraction for businesses, as they turn their attention to generating sales and managing cash flow.
“In the first quarter of 2010 we saw a small half-percent drop in failures compared to the end of 2009.
“We felt this could be an important indicator of how companies have been managing their operations, from cost cutting and improved collections, to surviving in the current recession. And these new figures for April certainly seem to indicate a continuing positive trend.”
Munroe adds: “UK businesses are continuing to work hard to recover from the recent challenges.
“It will be particularly interesting to see what story our analysis tells in May and June, as the result of the election starts to have an impact on the UK economy.”
