West Mids insolvencies on the up
The West Midlands had the third highest business population failure rate in the country during July, according to research from Experian.
Analysis from the data provider said that the region polled in joint third position alongside the North East with 0.11 per cent of the business population failing in July.
Only the North West and Yorkshire had higher failure rates.
The figures show that the West Midlands had a total of 173 insolvencies during the month - up 27.2 per cent on July 2010.
Across the country, Experian reported that 0.10 per cent of the business population failed during the month - up from 0.08 per cent in July 2010.
The research also revealed that the largest companies in the UK were faring better than others with those employing 501 or more employees experiencing a 12.5 per cent year on year drop in insolvencies.
Max Firth, managing director of Experian Business Information Services, said: "When a large company becomes insolvent it can create a domino effect in the surrounding economy, so the improvement in insolvency rates with firms with more than 500 employees is good news.
"However, this doesn't lessen the need for all organisations, regardless of their size or sector, to be mindful of the risks their customers, suppliers and partners can expose them to.
"It is vital that businesses fully understand the financial strength of those they do business with by checking their commercial credit score and late payment trends."
