UK: First in line: Hotels and restaurants | timesonline.co.uk
Insolvencies in the hospitality and leisure sector jumped by 60 per cent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, and the outlook for next year is even gloomier, according to figures released today by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The number of business failures reached 281 during July, August and September, up from 175 last time and well ahead of the 220 insolvencies reported in the first quarter this year and the 212 recorded in the second. But PwC is giving warning that the outlook is getting worse, with the hotel sector, which until recently had proved relatively resilient, likely to be among the worst-hit parts of the industry. A total of 18 hotel businesses failed during the quarter, up from ten in the same quarter last year but one fewer than in the previous quarter.