SMEs opting for examinership saves 1,000 jobs

Nearly 1,000 jobs have been saved this year, through struggling SMEs selecting the examinership route as a rescue option.

New figures from chartered accountancy firm, Hughes Blake, show that 959 SME jobs have been saved to date in 2012 via examinership — representing a 67% year-on-year increase. The figure is also up from the 753 measured just two months ago by the same firm in its regular SME Examinership Index.

The latest data comes as new legislation is set to be passed, allowing small and medium-sized firms to apply directly to the Circuit Court for examinership. This new provision in the Companies Bill will also cut the legal costs of examinership for small businesses by as much as 50%.