‘Zombies’ continue to march on as data reveals four-year high

This research, which is based on an analysis by Begbies Traynor of the Red Flag Alert dataset, reveals that one in seven Yorkshire businesses are classified as zombies, in other words, they are just generating enough cash to pay the interest on their debts and keep creditors at bay.

The Yorkshire data is similar to the figures compiled by Begbies Traynor for the UK as a whole.

According to Begbies Traynor, this means 432,082 businesses nationally, and 24,608 businesses in Yorkshire, are zombies.

This is a 16 per cent rise across the UK since 2010.

The figures in Yorkshire are above the national trend, with an 18 per cent rise since 2010 when there were 20,818 companies classed as zombies.

Across the UK, real estate and property services, support services and professional services sectors show the highest proportion of zombies with 78,415; 25,178 and 15,985 respectively in 2013.

The South East, London and Midlands have the worst affected areas over the last four years, with Yorkshire faring close to the national average.

Julian Pitts, regional managing partner for Begbies Traynor in Yorkshire and the North East, said “The analysis shows that these corporate zombies have clung on to life over the last six years due to a low interest rate environment and increased creditor forbearance, but this benign climate will not continue forever.

“Not all zombies are necessarily the same, some will go on to recover through access to funds and improving market conditions, while others seem destined to fail.”