It's no surprise that the UK is struggling with debt issues. However, what might be a surprise is exactly where in the country the problems are the worse. A recent article published the top 10 cities in the UK dealing with bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and financial stress.
From ten to one the top bankruptcies are as follows: Truro, Weymouth, Hastings, Barnstaple, Newton Abbot, Eastbourne, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Kingston upon Hull and Torquay. When laid out on a map it becomes apparent that most of the UK's bankruptcies come from the South West, predicted to be because of the seasonal businesses and sole traders that are in abundance.
Most IVAs reside in the M4 corridor, which result in the top ten cities (from ten to one) being: Chippenham, Darlington, Stevenage, Basingstoke, Swindon, Windsor, Crawley, Newbury, Andover and Aldershot.
Last but not least the article mentions those cities with the most fiscal stress that are most likely to have financial trouble in the near future. Most of the marked sports are urban areas including: Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Liverpool, Kingston upon Hull, Middlesborough, Knowsley, Notthingham, Glasgow and Manchester.
It appears that Kingston upon Hull has a lot of financial difficulties, being the only city to overlap with financial stress and top bankruptcies.
A layout map of the cities can be found courtesy of BBC News here.
