Hospitality firms in Yorkshire are ahead of many other parts of the UK where risk of insolvency is concerned, according to research by insolvency trade body R3.

The figures revealed that in December 2014:

• Yorkshire and the north west were among the best performing regions (behind London only), with hotels having a 16% risk of insolvency
• just 17% of hotels in Yorkshire and the Humber had a higher than normal risk of insolvency
• the Midlands was the weakest region, with hotels reporting a 23% risk of insolvency
• the restaurant sector in Yorkshire performed fairly well, with a 27% risk, a slight fall from the previous month, and below the national UK average of 30%
• levels of business distress among Yorkshire’s pubs were in line with the UK average, with 26% considered to be at higher than normal risk of insolvency

William Ballmann, chair of R3 in Yorkshire, and partner at Gateley law firm, said that the recovery of the Yorkshire hospitality sector is encouraging, as consumer confidence increases.

“This has been further boosted by our hosting of the Tour de France which has already delivered huge benefits to local hotels and restaurants and is expected to continue to attract more visitors to the regions over the coming years.”

The R3 findings follow a OnePoll survey showing that 59% of Yorkshire SMEs are feeling confident about their business in 2015.