UK automotive businesses saw a 41.7% increase in insolvencies in July year on year with 51 businesses in administration.
According to the latest figures from Experian, the automotive sector saw 0.14% of its population fail during July. It was one of the few sectors to see insolvencies rise month on month and also year on year when compared to 0.11% in June 2012 and 0.10% in July 2011.
However, UK business insolvency fell overall in July down by 9.5% in July to 1,776 business failures across the UK.
The biggest improvements came from the UK’s largest companies, over 501 employees – from 0.15% last July to 0.08% this year - and also smaller firms with 11 to 25 employees – from 0.26% last July to 0.19% this year.
Max Firth, Experian Business Information Services UK and Ireland managing director, said: "Since March this year, when the insolvency rate peaked at 0.11%, it has remained fairly stable – between 0.08% and 0.09%.
"The lack of any real increase is clearly welcome and this picture is unlikely to change in the near future."
Treorchy - 20/08/2012 16:17
Many dealers were encouraged to borrow beyond their ability to fund the repayments and were sold loans on an interest only basis with an interest collar. Banks have no interest in the motor trade and see it only as another source of revenue. Certain banks even lent seven figure plus sums to dealers who were not even making an operating profit on their day to day trading and secured such loans on over valued property and peoples personal guarantees when those guarantees were not worth the paper they were written on as some of the people who guarnteed the load couldn't even fund a normal mortgage for their own home. What does this say for the future of our industry when it is being built on a foundation of quick sand?