Yorkshire’s manufacturing sector shows continued recovery

Yorkshire-based manufacturers have continued to find success throughout August, with the proportion of firms in the sector at higher than normal risk of insolvency falling for the fifth consecutive month, according to the latest research by R3.

According to the figures for September 2015, only 20.2% of the region’s 11,940 active manufacturing businesses have a higher than normal risk of insolvency, the smallest proportion of any of the 12 regions surveyed across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This compares with a UK average of 23.2% of manufacturers having a higher than normal risk of insolvency. The latest figures represent a decrease of nearly 5% for the region over the past five months.

Furthermore, Yorkshire manufacturers also outperformed the UK-wide sector with London seeing the highest percentage of manufacturing firms at risk (30%), followed by the South East and Wales (both over 24%).

R3, the insolvency trade body, uses research compiled from Bureau van Dijk’s ‘Fame’ database of company information to track the number of businesses in key regional sectors that have a heightened risk of entering insolvency in the next year.

William Ballmann, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and partner at Gateley Plc, said: “The UK manufacturing sector is going through a difficult time at the moment. The combined effects of eurozone tensions and the downturn in China have meant confidence levels are low and exports have suffered.

“With manufacturing remaining an important economic driver for the Yorkshire economy, it is encouraging to see the region’s businesses fighting back to a more positive position.”

In Yorkshire, the professional services sector also showed signs of ongoing recovery, with a fall to 28.3% of businesses in the sector at higher than normal risk of insolvency, while the region’s hotel sector ranked third lowest for risk after London and Wales. The region’s construction industry, however, continued to face some challenges with 29.3% considered to be at higher than normal risk, a slight rise since last month.