Bolton and Manchester are the UK's biggest business graveyards with more than twice the national average of companies going bust, new figures from the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3) show.
Worst hit is Bolton, where one in 25 businesses shut their doors during 2001. That compares with the UK average of just one in 50. Manchester was not far behind with one in every 28 firms going under.
In a graphic illustration of the uphill struggle facing start-ups in Bolton, the survey shows that businesses located here are 4 times more likely to go bust than those in South West London.
The decline of the manufacturing sector in the area was the main factor behind the extra closures, said R3.
But in the South East, where there is a much stronger reliance on the service sector, businesses were much more likely to stay afloat, it said.
