Northern Ireland start-ups and late payments rise, R3 research shows

New research from insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 shows start-up numbers in Northern Ireland are surging – but so are incidents of late payment.

R3’s analysis of the data from business intelligence provider Creditsafe show the Northern Irish business community increased significantly this year with the creation of almost 3,000 new businesses since January.

The figures show start-up numbers grew as the months progressed, with 700 new start-ups in January, 780 in February and 870 new firms created in March.

However, this trend slowed last month, when 635 new businesses were started – a 27% decrease from the previous month.

The figures also revealed issues around late payment of invoices, which is one of the key indicators of business distress.

In April, Northern Irish businesses had more than 93,000 invoices on their books that had gone past their payment deadline without the money being received, while 9,119 companies in Northern Ireland were unable to meet their payments on time.

R3 chair for Northern Ireland James Neill, explained: “While it’s great to see that the business community is growing, it’s also concerning to see that late payments are as well.

“Payment behaviour is usually one of the biggest signs of financial distress and not being able to pay the bills on time is often an indicator of more severe cashflow difficulties, so it’s critical business owners and directors have full sight of their financial position and are aware of the signs that suggest their business is struggling.”

James, who is director and head of business advisory services at HNH Group, added: “I would urge directors of any Northern Irish business which is experiencing signs of financial distress – like finding it difficult to pay their bills, staff or taxes on time – to seek advice from a professional, qualified source.

“Seeking help early gives you more time to take a decision about your next step and means more options will be available to you than if you’d waited until the problem had worsened.”