Assessing the credit Credit reporting firm Experian recorded a sharp increase in the number of businesses going bust during the second quarter of 2005. Insolvency during the period increased by nearly 11 per cent to 4,574 firms going to the wall. This nu

Credit reporting firm Experian recorded a sharp increase in the number of businesses going bust during the second quarter of 2005

Credit reporting firm Experian recorded a sharp increase in the number of businesses going bust during the second quarter of 2005. Insolvency during the period increased by nearly 11 per cent to 4,574 firms going to the wall.

This number bucked a trend, over the past two years, of falling numbers of companies going into insolvency. Starting in April, the number of firms going bust rose steadily. In the first half of the year, 8,758 businesses failed, 535 more than during the same period in 2004. Voluntary liquidations increased by 10.5 per cent during the second quarter, compulsory liquidations were up by 6.3 per cent and administration orders and voluntary arrangements up by 44.9 and 26.1 per cent respectively.

The number of insolvencies increased at a level not seen by the firm since the third quarter of 2002.

In the IT sector specifically, failures rose form 148 in the second quarter of 2004 to 160 in the same period this year, a percentage change of 8.1 per cent. That said, measured in terms of halfs, the first half of the year was far better than the first half of 2004. failures measured in this way fell by 6.7 per cent, from 313 in H1 2004 to 292 in H1 2005.