The number of companies declared insolvent in Galway City and County in the first eleven months of 2016 has dropped by almost one quarter on the same period last year.
And the number of new companies set up during the same period saw an increase.
Statistics compiled for the Connacht Tribune for January to the end of November – the most up-to-date figures available – shows there were a total of 44 insolvencies recorded in Galway.
That figure is down from 57 for the same nine-month period in 2015, a reduction of almost 23%.
The total figure includes liquidations, receiverships and examinerships and focuses on companies which were not able to repay their debts as they fell due.
The statistics were provided to the Connacht Tribune by Vision-net.ie, a leading provider of information on companies in Ireland and the UK.
The month-by-month breakdown of figures for Galway city and county compared to 2015 (shown in brackets) were three in January (4); four in February; five in March (11); none in April (6); seven in May (9); seven in June (5); nine in July (3); three in August (3); two in September (6); two in October (4) and two in November (5).
Liquidations occur when a company is insolvent and cannot meet its debts as they fall due. Examinership is a process where the High Court affords protection to a company, which allows it ‘breathing space’ to restructure in an attempt to survive – and usually sees creditors paid a percentage of what they are owed.
A receiver is usually appointed by a secured creditor who has a significant ‘charge’ registered over a company’s assets – the company continues to trade as the receiver attempts to realise the assets and repay the creditor.
Meanwhile, separate figures from Vision-net show there were 724 new companies formed up until the end of November, up 5% from the 689 for the same period last year.
Business start-ups (based on the registration of business names with addresses in Galway) were down 9.3% from 1,220 in the first eleven months of last year to 1,106 for the same period this year.