No end to slump misery
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• Business information company Dun & Bradstreet fore.casts no let-up in the level of failures among transport companies. It says small operators are most at risk.
Marketing manager Philip Mellor says that failing consumer demand in Britain and on the Continent will continue to hit operators: "It could be argued that the drop off in trade is stabilising because the economy is bumping along the bottom ... but firms, especially small ones, can only hang on by their fingertips for so long.
"The failure of large companies has slowed down but the ones that are surviving are laying off people," he adds. "The medium-to-small company has no room for manoeuvre this far through the recession."
Dun & Bradstreet's figures reveal that more than 46,000 businesses failed in Britain in the first three-quarters of this year — an increase of nearly 40% over the same period last year. There has also been a 58% increase in the number of smaller companies failing, with two out of three business failures coming from bankruptcies of sole traders or partnerships. The number of failures has almost reached the 1991 total of 47,777 with the collapse of more than 1,220 companies a week.
The South-east, London and Scotland recorded the largest number of failures, between them accounting for over 50% suffered in Britain.
El The gloomy outlook is echoed by a report from accountant Touche Ross. It lists seven road transport companies which went into receivership during September, bringing the total so far this year to 75.
The receiver for Brain Haulage, one of the latest operators to go into receivership, says he has received several offers for the business, which collapsed last month with debts of more than £5m.