North East England firms have 1.8m overdue invoices

North East of England businesses had over 1.8 million overdue invoices on their books in 2024, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body.

R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows that businesses in the North East recorded a total of 1,872,510 overdue invoices last year.

This was 3.4% higher than 2023’s total of 1,811,001 overdue invoices.

October saw the highest volume of overdue invoices, with a total of 171,028 recorded during the month. This was an increase of 5.7% compared to the highest monthly total in the previous year, February 2023, when 161,797 overdue invoices were recorded.

Kelly Jordan, Chair of R3 in the North East of England, says: “2024 was an incredibly challenging year for North East businesses. While a decline in inflation levels provided some relief by slowing the pace of rising costs, this was overshadowed by a host of other challenges.

“Ongoing supply chain disruptions made it harder for businesses to operate smoothly, high energy costs continued to squeeze profit margins, and political uncertainty surrounding the election left many unsure about the future.

“These difficulties were further compounded by new pressures introduced in the October budget, making it even harder for businesses to regain their footing.

“The combination of these ongoing pressures has left many businesses in the North East unable to meet payment deadlines and struggling to stay afloat.”

The number of North East of England companies with overdue invoices on their books reached 150,126 in 2024. This is a 1.8% increase from 2023, when 147,473 firms recorded overdue invoices on their books.

In 2024, the North East saw the sixth largest increase in the number of firms with overdue invoices on their books when compared to the other UK’s nations and regions.

Scotland saw the largest rise (15.1%), followed by Greater London (3.6%), the North West (3.4%), the West Midlands (2.5%) and Northern Ireland (2%).

Kelly, who is a partner at Muckle LLP continues: “Over the past couple of years, many businesses struggled to pay their bills on time, and as conditions have not improved enough, these debts have snowballed. This has placed immense pressure on North East businesses, with more and more now unable to meet their payment deadlines amidst ongoing financial challenges.

“If conditions don’t improve early this year, we could see more companies facing even greater pressures, with some turning to insolvency processes to address their financial issues.

“I would urge businesses in the North East to seek advice at the first signs of financial distress. Conversation around money can be extremely difficult, but by facing your problems early, you’ll have more time to think about your next steps and more potential options available to you for resolving your concerns.”