NOTTINGHAM: The latest Insolvency Index from Experian reveals a positive picture in January, with the rate of business failures falling to its lowest point since June 2007.

Businesses across the UK saw an 8% improvement in their combined financial strength score, from 79.46 in January 2009 to 81.16 January 2010. The rate of insolvencies fell to 0.07% in January 2010, with seven in every 10 000 businesses going under. This compares to an insolvency rate of 0.09% in January 2009 and 0.11% in December 2009.

Rolf Hickmann, managing director of pH, an Experian company, said: “It’s encouraging to discover that not since the current financial crunch started have so few firms become insolvent in a single month. Whilst it is too early to predict whether we are fully out of the woods, this does hint at an improvement in the health of UK businesses, something which is reinforced by the financial strength view provided by January’s data.”