High street sees less retailers failing in 2014

It was thought the high street might be changed beyond recognition with the ongoing trail of collateral damage seen amongst retailers over the course of the recession threatening to empty the shops.

And in the early days of 2015 Bank Fashion was just the latest to be added to the growing list of companies placed in the hands of administrators.

It seems though that the situation could now be stabilising. In 2014 the number of retailers entering administration fell by 35 per cent. Figures from Deloitte show that there were 119 cases last year, down by one-third from 183 in 2013.

Taking a step back to look at the overall picture, there was a 20 per cent reduction in administration proceedings to 1,302.

With the economy becoming more stable in 2014, consumers have responded by purchasing more confidently, and so improving things for retailers as well.

Lee Manning, restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said: “Although the trend for the sector is positive, there will always be individual retail insolvency cases, as with the clothing chain Bank Fashion.”

The hospitality and leisure industries are hot on the heels of retail with a 34 per cent fall in administrations on 2013. The only sectors to have seen an increase in company failures during 2014 are the financial services at 2.5 per cent and the IT sector at 14 per cent.

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