Business failures at low in the North

business failures are at a 10year low in Northern Ireland, according to new statistics to be published today that will show a drop in the number of firms that floundered during the first six months of this year.

Latest figures from Dun & Bradstreet, the business information group, reveal that a total of 195 firms have stopped trading to date this year, compared to 285 during the corresponding period last year.

Business failures fell in the second quarter by 21 per cent on last year's figures, continuing the trend set in the first three months of this year when the failure rate was down by 20 per cent.

Mr Jonathan Cushley, sales manager of Dun & Bradstreet Ireland said the decrease was surprising because the failure rate does not reflect the pressures that the North's economy has been under in the first half of the year. He warned that next quarter's statistics may not be so cheerful.

However "failures for the quarter are at a 10-year low and this should bode well for the 12 month period," he added.

But Mr Paul Rooney, corporate recovery partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Belfast is less optimistic. "Throughout most of 2000, trading conditions were healthy. It was only towards the end of the year the economy began to slow, but over the last quarter things have become increasingly difficult," he said.