Six firms per day going bust

MORE that six companies are going bust every working day with 33 companies a week going out of business in the first three months of the year, according to Insolvency Journal.ie.

Statistics from the website shows the number of corporate insolvencies for the first three months is 396, down slightly down on last year’s first quarter total of 409.

Partner with KavanaghFennell, Ken Fennell, which compiles the data, said: “Figures for the first quarter are very much in line with expectations and we believe this level of insolvencies will continue throughout 2011, with our year-end predictions still not changed at in excess of 1,500 corporate failures.”

The first-quarter results for 2011 show of the 396 insolvencies, the industry worst affected was construction, which accounted for over 28% of the total, with retail and hospitality accounting for 14%.

Retail has seen a rise from 37 insolvencies in the last quarter of 2010 to 54 insolvencies in the first quarter for 2011 with hospitality jumping five from 51 insolvencies in the last quarter of 2010 to 56 in the first quarter of 2011.

“The trend in retail is worrying in that corporate retail insolvencies have increased significantly in the first quarter accounting for 14% of the overall total of insolvencies.

“The increase in the first-quarter total of hospitality failures is not surprising bearing in mind the continued downward pressure on pricing and lack of consumer confidence,” Mr Fennell said

Dublin recorded the highest number of corporate failures in the first three months of the year with 139 insolvencies, or 35% of the national total while Cork recorded the second highest with 35 insolvencies or 9%.

Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations accounted for 77% of all insolvencies for the first three months of 2011 while court liquidations accounted for 7%.

The first quarter of 2011 saw six applications for court protection granted by the High Court accounting for 1% of the overall total.