30.Jan.2012

Almost 3,000 businesses falling under the umbrella categories covering DIY and hardware suffered insolvency last year, according to new data and analysis released by Experion this week.

The garden centre industry, however, held onto its front-running financial strength from 2010 to 2011, and despite a drop of two points came out second only to the oil sector.

Retailers falling into the 'non-food' category, which an Experion spokesperson said included "the retail sale of hardware, paints and glass" were hit particularly hard, with 1,251 insolvencies in 2011. The figures showed 1.49% of these businesses failed last year, a significant increase on 2010's 1.29%, bringing its financial strength score down two points from 78.85 to 76.70.

A further blow was delivered to the wholesale sector, which saw 931 businesses fall into insolvency and its financial strength drop from 79.74 to 78.19. However, the rate of business failure remained unchanged since 2010 at 1.53%.

Building materials, encompassing the wholesale of hardware, plumbing and heating equipment and supplies, fared rather better with just 72 insolvencies according to the report. The proportion of business failure improved from 2.09% in 2010 to 1.96% last year.