Begbies Traynor Red Flag Alert Statistics
- Preston (+20.8%, Q2 2025 – 906), Burnley (+6.4, Q2 2025 – 548) and wider Lancashire (+10.4%, Q2 2025 – 13,384) saw increase of ‘significant’ distress in the last year
- Q2 2025 figures show 69,565 North West businesses in ‘significant’ distress – a 9.6% annual increase
- Lancashire Construction firms most affected (+19.1%, Q2 2025 – 2,161) followed by Real Estate and Property businesses (+26.9%, Q2 2025 – 1,488)
- UK-wide, 666,876 businesses reported significant financial distress during Q2 2025, a 10.8% increase from Q1 2025
Almost 14,000 businesses across Lancashire are now classed as being in ‘significant’ economic distress rising 10.4% from a year before, according to the latest figures from Begbies Traynor’s ‘Red Flag Alert’, which monitors the financial health of UK companies.
The ‘Red Flag Alert’ also found an increase in ‘significant’ distress of 20.8% in Preston (Q2 2025 – 906) and a 6.4% increase in Burnley (Q2 2025 – 548) in Q2 2025.
This picture of distress was mirrored across the North West including Cheshire (+10.5%, Q2 2025 – 15,341), Merseyside (+10.7%, Q2 2025 – 7,453) and Greater Manchester (+9.1%, Q2 2025 – 30,756) during the past year. A similar pattern was observed in Liverpool (+14.7%, Q2 2025 – 4,973), Manchester (+13.2%, Q2 2025 – 9,758) and Salford (+17.2%, Q2 2025 – 1,241).
From an industry perspective, Lancashire Construction firms most affected (+19.1%, Q2 2025 – 2,161) followed by Real Estate and Property businesses (+26.9%, Q2 2025 – 1,488)
Nationally, there were 666,876 businesses in significant financial distress during Q2 2025, a 10.8% increase from Q1 2025.
Commenting on the figures, Chris Lawton, Partner at Begbies Traynor, says:
“In this climate, businesses are finding it difficult to get a steady footing, confront and overcome an array of challenges including low consumer confidence, rising taxes and global economic changes. The impact of these factors is reflected in the increased numbers of significantly distressed businesses across Lancashire.
“However, even in this climate there are options for businesses if they confront distress early. The businesses that spot the signs early will be assessing their past, present and future income streams and confronting any issues head on. It is likely we will see businesses continue to fail in the coming year but there will be those that adapt and thrive in these conditions because they take action early.
“There are very talented leaders guiding promising businesses across Lancashire and there is a route through towards success but businesses may need to change and adapt to build up again once they have negotiated through these current challenges.”