The total number of UK business insolvencies spiralled to 30,199 last year – an increase of 52 per cent on the 2021 total.
The statistic is revealed in a report from Creditsafe Business Solutions, a credit checking agency.
Analysing the increase, its online platform points out that financial help from the Government helped many firms survive during the Covid pandemic.
Since then, in the absence of support funding, strong economic headwinds have pushed thousands of companies out of business.
Negative factors in recent months have included cautious consumer spending and rising costs.
Companies are also being adversely affected by requests for wage increases and higher energy bills.
On the insolvency front, construction is the sector which is hardest hit.
It accounted for 17 per cent of all insolvencies in December 2023, with 429 construction companies becoming insolvent.
The wholesale and retail sectors between them saw 354 companies become insolvent in the same month, while accommodation and food services saw 326 businesses fail.
The combined total of these sectors represents 28 per cent of all insolvencies for December last year.
Creditsafe’s insolvency totals for the whole of 2023, sector by sector, include the following: manufacturing – 2,255; construction – 5,124; wholesale and retail – 4,349; accommodation and food services – 4,227; professional, scientific and technical activities – 2,757; transportation and storage – 991.
