The number of Leicestershire companies in “significant financial distress” is up three per cent year-on-year at more than 6,800, new research suggests.
A new report from corporate recovery, insolvency, finance specialists Begbies Traynor suggests slow economic growth at the end of 2019 saw 6,837 firms across the county and city of Leicester in difficulties.
It said real estate, and property & construction were particularly badly affected.
Nationally, it said, the number of businesses in significant distress had risen 81 per cent since the start of 2016.
It comes just days after Handmade Burger Co became the latest chain to fold, with 19 restaurants shutting – including a branch in Highcross Leicester – putting more than 280 people out of work.
The Begbies Traynor Red Flag Alert data for the last three months of 2019 said nationally, 494,000 businesses were having significant problems – the highest number recorded by the research.
That was a rise of 81 percent since 2016, and a significant number of those companies, it said, were formed after 2014, demonstrating that younger businesses were the most vulnerable to failure.
But it added that some sectors in Leicester were showing “tentative signs” of stability with the number of troubled firms in professional services and media down on the previous quarter.
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Martin Buttriss, a partner at Begbies Traynor in Leicester, said: “Businesses and the 海角视频 economy as a whole will want to avoid a repeat performance of 2019, where distress increased to record levels on the back of ongoing uncertainty around Brexit.
“These figures clearly demonstrate the impact of this indecision, so with political certainty and a clear Brexit path, businesses in Leicester should, at last, be able to plan for 2020 with a greater sense of clarity.
“However, the macro-economic climate is complicated, and we are seeing clear winners and losers, as evidenced by this latest Red Flag data.
“Currently, we do not know if the failing performance within some sectors is due to short term confidence issues, or more fundamental economic and structural issues.
“The landscape of 海角视频 business is slowly changing.
“In order to capture the attentions of consumers and clients, businesses need to demonstrate that they not only have a compelling product or service at the right price, but also one that has strong environmental credentials to boot.”