New figures today show that the number of insolvencies in July rose by 9% to 152 from 139 in June.
InsolvencyJournal.ie says that four companies a day have gone bust from the beginning of the year to July. The first seven months of the year saw a total of 971 appointments, up 6% on the same time last year.
Weak consumer sentiment and the ongoing financial uncertainty in the euro zone continue to affect Irish businesses, said Ken Fennell of KavanaghFennell, the firm which compiles the data.
The figures also show that there were 39 receiverships in July, a big increase of 104% on the June figure of 19. A number of of high-profile appointments were made last month, including Superquinn and McInerney Holdings.
There was a 59% increase in insolvencies in the construction sector, up from 32 in June to 51 in July - the highest monthly total so far this year. The construction sector has seen 254 failures so far this year, 26% of all insolvencies recorded for 2011.
The retail industry did, however, see some respite last month with a 48% decrease from 25 insolvencies in June to 13 in July. But the motor industry saw a 100% increase, rising from four in June to eight in July.
'Overall insolvencies remain stubbornly high and our predictions for the year remain that there will be approximately 1,6000 insolvencies during 2011', Fennell said.
