The number of businesses in major financial trouble spiked towards the end of last year as a “winter of discontent” over the direction of the economy dented investment levels and consumer confidence.
While those in “significant” distress in the fourth quarter remained roughly flat year-on-year at 481,000, those in “critical” distress rocketed by a quarter to 2,200, according to insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor.
Property companies were among the worst affected as the number in critical trouble hit 118, up by more than a third, and those in significant distress rose by a tenth to 47,000.
