Forbes Burton’s 2024 list of the UK’s distressed businesses details over 200 household names and high street staples that have had to either close branches or let staff go.
• An estimated 146,500 jobs lost from big-name brand closures
• 441 banks and 115 Post Offices closed, taking account access away from those without internet
• Over 8,000 branches of big household names have disappeared from high street.
• Brewery closures surge, with over 900 jobs lost or at risk

Nationwide insolvency firm, Forbes Burton have released their 2024 list of the UK’s most distressed businesses. This details big-name companies that have had to either close, enter administration, or let go of staff or UK branches over the course of the year.

The report documents a year in which several high-street names such as The Body Shop and Victoria Plum have seen their bricks-and-mortar empires crumble in the face of severe economic headwinds.

Outside of retail, the list also includes a number of household names within hospitality, sport, and other sectors that have struggled over the past 12 months.

Rick Smith, managing director of insolvency firm Forbes Burton, commented, “As bad for as the list looks for UK businesses this year, we could potentially see even more severity in next year’s.

Measures introduced in the government’s autumn budget have spooked UK business owners by raising both National Insurance contributions and National Minimum Wage in a bid to square a deficit in the treasury coffers. Companies that have barely survived the pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, and the economic effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be nervously looking at how they can navigate 2025.”

On what the list means for smaller businesses, Smith added that “by highlighting how many large corporations and high street names have struggled this year, we can start to appreciate just how difficult it is for small-to-medium-sized businesses to stay afloat. While larger firms can often absorb economic changes by implementing cost-cutting measures, SMEs often aren’t so lucky, with many being just one external threat away from folding”.

The full list of the 200+ businesses affected in 2024 can be found at https://www.forbesburton.com/news/uks-distressed-business-list-2024

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Forbes Burton is a UK-based business consultancy with offices nationwide that specialises in business closures, insolvencies, and restructuring.

This release was published on openPR.