HUDDERSFIELD has one of the worst records in the country for firms going bust, a shock survey revealed today.
Figures from insolvency experts showed that about one in 100 firms in the town became insolvent last year.
That compares with a national average of 0.75% - and puts Huddersfield in the top 10 UK towns and cities for most business failures.
The survey by the Association of Business Recovery Professionals also showed that the north generally had more "business graveyards" than the south.
The exception was Peterborough, where firms were five times more likely to go bust than in any other major town or city in the UK.
The poll of 119 towns and cities said Huddersfield, Wakefield and Leeds were the worst performers in Yorkshire.
York, Harrogate and Doncaster were among the places with the best record for business success.
The survey said poor management was the biggest avoidable cause of business failures.
But it also highlighted how firms could be brought to the brink by the collapse of client businesses.
The association said creditors were three times more likely to get their money back from insolvent customers by supporting rescue efforts.
Peter Sargent, Meltham-based spokesman for the association in Huddersfield and Halifax, said: "The Government - through Inland Revenue and VAT departments - no longer has first call on any money left in a business and administrations are being used far more widely."
