Retail administrations down 35 percent in 2014

The number of retail administrations in England fell by 35 percent between 2013 and 2014, according to annual research from business advisory firm Deloitte.

The research reveals that 119 retails entered into administration during 2014, compared with 183 in 2013, with almost a third of the appointments occurring in the first three months of the year.

The total number of administrations across all industry sectors tracked in the analysis was down 20 percent on 2013, with 1,302 businesses going into administration. Almost all industries saw a decrease in administrations during 2014, with only the financial services and IT sectors witnessing an increase of 2.5 percent and 14 percent respectively.

When it came to the regional breakdown of the administrations the research found that almost half of administrations took place in London and the North West, showing that the capital is just as vulnerable to administrations as the rest of England.

Lee Manning, restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said: “After a few turbulent years, we saw fewer casualties in the retail sector in 2014. As the economic situation improved, consumer confidence increased and the retail industry benefitted.

“Although the overall trend for the sector is positive, there will always be individual retail insolvency cases, as with the clothing chain Bank Fashion.

Manning added: “There is a clear pattern developing whereby we expect to see a permanent shift away from using administration as a restructuring tool for businesses with a greater emphasis towards constructive debtor-driven solutions involving negotiations with creditors, either informally or through the use of CVA’s where in both circumstances companies will work alongside restructuring professionals.”