Yorkshire hotels outperform all other UK regions

Yorkshire’s hotels have experienced a strong start to the year, outperforming all other UK regions, according to research by insolvency trade body R3.

The latest figures show that the proportion of hotels in Yorkshire at higher than normal risk of insolvency in January fell by 6.5% - a month when, typically, the sector struggles with low occupancy levels.

Of the 481 active hotels in the region, only 92 (19%) are identified as being at higher than normal risk, 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% of hotels at higher than normal risk of insolvency, with the East Midlands and East of England showing the most hotels at risk (27%), followed by Northern Ireland (26%) and the South East (25%).

Adrian Berry, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and restructuring partner at Deloitte LLP, said: “2015 was generally a good year for the hotel industry. With an improving economic and travel outlook and demand expected to outpace the supply of new rooms, average room revenues are expected to continue to increase.

“The region has performed particularly well this month given that January is traditionally a difficult month for the sector, however the recent flooding has raised concerns that would-be visitors may be deterred. With the tourism industry contributing around £7bn to Yorkshire’s economy, it is fortunate that the region’s hotels are facing these challenges from such a strong position.”

In Yorkshire, the professional services and transport and haulage sectors also showed signs of ongoing recovery, with falls of 1.3% and 1.2% respectively of business at higher than normal risk of insolvency, compared with last month.

The region’s manufacturers also performed well, ranking second lowest for risk after the West Midlands, with only 20% of the 12,067 active companies considered at higher than normal risk.

R3 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.