BUSINESS failures in Yorkshire fell by more than a fifth in the first two months of the year, according to latest figures.

A survey by business information group Equifax showed 406 companies across the region collapsed in January and February – 22.8% down on the figure of 526 logged for the same two months in 2011.

Yorkshire was the best-performing region in the UK – while there were also big falls in business failure rates for Scotland, the South West, the North East and London.

Nationally, the failure rate fell by almost 8% to 4,262 from 4,629 last time.

The findings follow data released by the Office for National Statistics which showed the total industrial production rose by 4.4% in January year-on-year, while manufacturing output increased by 6.8% over the same period.

Among industry sectors, construction reported a 20.3% decline in business failures while manufacturing was down by almost 19% and business services saw a 16.5% decrease.