Value of judgments rises by €31m

There was a €31 million increase in the value of court-registered judgments against debtors in the last month.

Figures from data information company, Experian show that 485 judgments — with a combined value of €53.2m — were secured during the four weeks between October 22 and November 21. The majority — more than €49m worth — were secured against individuals. Just under €4m worth of judgments were against businesses.

“During November, the value of judgments secured more than doubled month-on-month, from just under €22m in October to over €53m in November. Interestingly, the increase in value seems to be driven by increased judgement values in smaller counties such as Meath and Tipperary, which could illustrate the pressures being felt by rural businesses as the end of the year approaches,” said Experian Gazette spokesperson, Danielle Span-Dominy.

“In today’s business environment, it is critical for businesses to track their customers’ business activities.”

On a geographical basis, last month saw Meath record the highest combined value of judgments — with €21.8m being secured from 25 cases; again most of which were made against individuals rather than businesses. Tipperary had the second highest value level, at €10.2m and November marked the first time in four months that Dublin didn’t have the highest value of judgments. The north-west region continued to record the lowest value.

Elsewhere, yesterday, figures from credit risk analyst group, Vision-net showed that just over one in 10 companies that have collapsed to date, this year, were in the retail sector. To date this year, 12% of all company insolvencies here have been in the retail sector compared with 14% for the same period in 2011. After the construction, professional services and real estate sectors, retail businesses were most likely to collapse, the company said.

“Retailers are reporting that average transaction values are down and our analysis shows that a higher than average proportion of companies in this sector fall into the high-risk category. However, the run-up to Christmas is always the busiest period for retailers, so hopefully the high street will show signs of increased consumer demand at this time of year,” Vision-net MD Christine Cullen said.