AN INSOLVENCY expert in Huddersfield has blamed Britain's "spend, spend, spend" culture for the latest rise in personal bankruptcies.
Government figures show there were 23,351 individual insolvencies in England and Wales during the first quarter of the year - almost 13% up on the previous three months and 73% higher than a year ago.
Peter Sargent, the Huddersfield and Halifax spokesman for the Association of Business Recovery Professionals, said: "Spring always brings an increase in personal debt as people want a fresh start.
"January is often the worst month for insolvencies. People are still recovering from the pressures of spending over Christmas and have to cope with huge January credit card bills."
Meltham man Mr Sargent, who heads insolvency firm Begbies Traynor in Halifax, said it had become very easy for people to go into bankruptcy and there was very little stigma attached to it compared with even a decade ago.
"We are faced with a culture of people wanting to spend, spend, spend and not realising the consequences," he said. "It is also easy to obtain credit cards - but people need to be educated about how to manage their finances."
The figures also showed a rise in corporate insolvencies. Liquidations totalled 3,349 during the first quarter - 7.6% up on the previous three months and 17% higher than a year ago.
Mr Sargent said the figures showed that many firms faced severe cash flow problems and relied heavily on one customer or supplier. Bad management was also a problem.
He added: "We cannot stress enough the importance of business owners getting help before it's too late."
Huddersfield Daily Examiner
