Business
Latest Red Flag Alert Report for Q2 2016
Latest Red Flag Alert Report for Q2 2016.
About this update from Btg Consulting Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 3761E Begbies Traynor Group PLC 18 July 2016 \n\n \n \nResearch shows British businesses are in a strong position to face Brexit challenges, \nbut expect at least six months of turmoil ahead\n \nLevels of financial distress fell 4% ahead of the Brexit vote, but more than 240,000 SMEs still in a dire state\n \nUK Property and Construction sectors expected to bear the brunt of Brexit, with nearly 50,000 firms at risk\n \nUK businesses across every sector of the economy were showing positive signs of stability in the run up to the EU Referendum, new research from Begbies Traynor, the UK's leading independent insolvency firm, reveals. However after the severe market turmoil that immediately followed the Brexit decision, experts warn that it could be at least another six months before we see a 'new normal' in the UK economy. \n \nAccording to Begbies Traynor's Red Flag Alert research for Q2 2016, which monitors the financial health of UK companies, in the three months preceding the EU Referendum, levels of 'Significant' financial distress among UK businesses fell for the first time since Q3 2015, as the UK economy showed tentative signs of stability ahead of the Brexit vote.\n \nThe research reveals that levels of 'Significant' distress fell by 4% during Q2 2016, from 274,595 struggling businesses in Q1 2016 down to 263,517 companies in the past three months, of which 93% (244,402) were small to medium sized businesses (SMEs). The sector most exposed to economic volatility remains to be UK construction and real estate, in which 49,186 firms were classified as experiencing 'Significant' financial distress in the period.\n \nOverall, levels of financial distress decreased across every sector and every region of the UK economy, but the most marked improvement in financial health during Q2 was among London-based businesses, where the number of companies experiencing 'Significant' distress fell by 5% to 43,737 (Q1 2016: 4...