Report Finds More Businesses In Early Financial Distress

The latest report from the insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor has found that more businesses in NI are showing signs of early or significant financial distress. The figures indicate over a 32% increase in firms falling into this category in the third quarter of 2024. Conversely, the number of businesses in critical financial distress actually fell by over 23% in the second and third quarter of this year. So the data isn’t all bad news by any means.

The Travel & Tourism Sector Fared Particularly Badly

Here are some of the figures from this report, as copied from an article on the Irish News website. The report found that:

‘Of the Northern Ireland companies entering ‘significant’ distress in between the second and third quarters of 2024, the data found the biggest increase was in the in the travel and tourism sector (+70.6%).

‘Other sectors recording quarterly increases included: hotels and accommodation (+17.5%); telecoms (+16.6%); wholesale (+14.7%); and professional services (+12.6%) sectors.

‘There were some improvements in the automotive (-6.8%) and construction (-4.2%) sectors.’

Brexit Followed By The Pandemic Left Many Businesses Fighting For Survival

And Lawrence O’Hara, who is the leader of Begbies Traynor in Northern Ireland, is also quoted in the same article saying:

“The perfect storm of Brexit, swiftly followed by the pandemic, left many businesses fighting for survival and the added pressures of sticky inflation, resulting in escalating costs and falling consumer spending, are continuing to impact every sector,

“After some initial optimism following the general election, 2024 is proving to be another tough year for UK firms.

“It is extremely worrying to see almost a third more businesses in Northern Ireland now on the brink of failure compared with the same quarter last year.

“As almost 10,000 companies in the province balance on the knife edge of insolvency, the UK economy is desperately in need of a period of certainty in which businesses can consolidate and plan for future growth.”

And he went on to say that:

“While the impending Budget is being viewed with trepidation by many, it is hoped that a more secure financial landscape lies ahead.

“Nevertheless, given the high levels of debt that businesses have accumulated in recent years, business owners and managers would be wise to remain cautious and turn to professional advisers at the first signs of financial problems when the most tools will be available to prevent problems from escalating.”

If you have a business that is suffering from financial issues then please give our expert team a call, we have helped many businesses over the years overcome such problems and go on to become thriving concerns. Call our team on 028 37522909.