Slowdown in business distress in North East

THE rate at which distress levels in North East businesses is growing has slowed slightly, according to new research.

- TOM KEIGHLEY Business writer [e-mail]

Data included in a quarterly snapshot of the region's corporate health shows the number of North East firms experiencing significant and early stage distress reached 13,676 in Q4 of 2025, up 7.9% on the quarter before and 11.5% on the same period the year before.

Between Q2 and Q3 2025, the number of North East companies in financial difficulty rose by 8.2%, but in Q4 the rate had slowed slightly to 7.9%.

The latest Red Flag Alert research from Begbies Traynor showed a more marked slowdown nationally.

UK businesses saw a rise of 0.3% in early-stage distress since the previous quarter, and a year-on-year increase of 11.3%, with 728,640 firms affected in total. In the North East, a number of sectors monitored in the research showed a fall in levels of significant distress levels between Q3 and Q4.