The number of UK businesses in “critical financial distress” has jumped for the second consecutive quarter as high inflation and interest rates lift costs and weaken consumer sentiment, Report informs referring to Financial Times.
Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert, which measures companies’ underlying financial health, showed a quarter-on-quarter jump of 25.9 percent “leaving more than 47,000 businesses near collapse in the UK at the start of 2024”.
Every sector was affected, the consultancy’s report showed on Monday, driven by construction, real estate and support services in particular. Of 22 sectors, 18 saw at least double-digit growth.