Insolvencies down in East Midlands
Corporate insolvency numbers continued to fall in the East Midlands in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to PwC. However, compared with the same period in 2010, insolvencies went up.
In total, 3 per cent less companies became insolvent in the final quarter of last year down from 210 to 204.
The figure also fell across the country, down by 7 per cent over the same period.
Based on a comparison with the same quarter in 2010, the number of insolvencies in the East Midlands has risen by 27 per cent.
Eddie Williams, business recovery services expert at PwC in the East Midlands, said: "Despite the relatively upbeat reports coming from retailers about trading performances over Christmas, we have seen some high-street casualties and there may well be more to come as the true cost of pre-Christmas discounting impacts on profit margins.
"PwC's research has shown that in the week before Christmas, 76 per cent of 100 high-street retailers were on sale or advertising promotions in their shop windows. While this is only slightly ahead of the norm, the level of discounting was much deeper than usual and this will have eroded margins."
Nationally, the retail sector is among those worst affected, with a 12 per cent rise in insolvencies in the last quarter of 2011 compared to 12 months earlier.
