The North East is seeing significant numbers of firms in financial distress despite bucking some national trends, a new report reveals.
The Red Flag Alert data from law firm Begbies Traynor reveals that the number of firms in the North East in ‘critical’ distress - which refers to companies that have financial problems such as court judgements of more than £5,000 filed against them - rose by 10% in the second quarter of the year compared with the same period the previous year, though this was below the national rate and a fall on the first quarter of this year.
The number of firms facing ‘significant’ distress fell year-on-year, but the Begbies’ figures show that more than 11,300 businesses in the region were showing early stage distress between April and June. Problems were seen particularly in the travel and tourism, utilities and printing sectors.
