Latest figures released by the Bank of England show that bankruptcies have increased 20 per cent in the last five years with the number of business failures surging by more than 10 per cent since last year. (See 7 November 2003 – Insolvencies in Q3 2003
Against this background, accountants and business advisors PKF are warning that next year could be the toughest year ever for small- and medium-sized businesses. The North East and West Midlands suffered particularly badly with business failures up 46 per cent and 40 per cent respectively and growing by 13.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent in the first three quarters of 2003 alone.
PKF point to the fact that interest rates are expected to rise sharply throughout 2004 combined with recent National Insurance tax rises, mounting red tape and increasing tax hurdles as evidence for its gloomy prediction.
