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Number of firms collapsing down a third

Wednesday, February 27 12:14:32

The number of businesses collapsing this month is down by 32pc compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from Vision-net.

These results continue the positive trend from January 2013, where a 21pc drop in the number of businesses collapsing from the previous year was recorded.

Vision-net's figures, covering the period between February 1 and 25, show that 140 businesses collapsed - a 32pc decrease on the same period in 2012. Of those, 99 were liquidated, 39 entered receivership and an examiner was appointed to two companies.

A county-by-county breakdown of the figures for this month shows that Dublin accounted for 44pc of all insolvencies, with Cork and Kildare, between them, recording a further 18pc of insolvencies - 10pc and 8pc respectively. In all, 95 companies held meetings of creditors showing short-term debts of almost E21 million.

The figures recorded 3,418 company and business start-ups this month - up 7pc on the same period in 2012 - showing an average of 136 start-ups per day. Of these, 2,277 were registered business names while 1,141 new companies were incorporated.

In the hospitality sector, over two-thirds of companies were deemed high risk while, in construction, 58pc of firms were in danger of collapse.

Vision-net's figures for January show that 554 registered commercial and consumer judgments worth E29.4 million were awarded in the courts. Of these, 396 judgments worth E26.4 million were awarded against consumers in January - an average of over E66,661 per judgment. This is a 33pc drop on the average awarded per consumer judgment in December 2012 which stood at just over E101,000.

Christine Cullen, Managing Director of Vision-net, said February's figures are encouraging.

'Our figures for this month continue to support the possibility of recovery in the domestic economy. We recorded over 3,400 start-ups this month - a 7pc rise on start-ups on this time last year. These figures, combined with the on-going drop in the number of companies declared insolvent, most notably a 32pc drop in February from last year, following a 21pc drop on January figures. Businesses should take these figures as an incentive to continue using smart business practices such as detailed research into their marketplace,' said Ms Cullen.