BOLTON is one of the top five UK locations for business failures, according to a major new survey.

Figures released by R3, the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (ABRP), show that companies in Bolton fail at a rate of 1.43 per cent each year - the fourth-worst rate in Britain compared to the national rate of 0.74 per cent.

The survey showed that Peterborough had the worst rate in the UK at 4.6 per cent, with Sunderland second on 1.8 per cent.

Bolton was one place behind Manchester (1.7 per cent). Along with Leeds, Bolton and Manchester are the only places to appear in the top ten listing two years running.

The survey collated business failure rates by postcode areas, using information from financial documents placed with Companies House about every recorded insolvency in the UK between January 2002 and June 2003.

Results showed that poor management continued to be the biggest avoidable cause of business failure, and also indicated that creditors of bust businesses could get three times their money back from insolvent customers by supporting rescues.

"Any business hit by a trade creditor becoming insolvent is likely to get more money back by supporting a rescue than by making the creditor go bankrupt," said James Gleave, the North-west chairman of the ABRP.

"However, just as management failure is responsible for at least a third - and probably more - of all Britain's business break-ups, creditors, particularly those in the most vulnerable small businesses, do not have the skills to evaluate and participate in rescue opportunities when they see them."

Dave Jones, commercial banking director at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Bolton, said: "Administration works as a way to rescue businesses, preserving more than half the jobs of their employees. Together with Company Voluntary Arrangement (which rely on support from creditors), Administration offers trade creditors the opportunity to get back far more money from a failed business than they would have in the past. And they get to keep a customer going for the future.

"However, just as management failure is responsible for at least a third - and probably more - of all Britain's business break-ups, creditors, particularly those in the most vulnerable small businesses, don't have the skills to evaluate and participate in rescue opportunities when they see them. R3 is addressing this problem with an outreach programme for managers and business groups in the coming year".

The survey showed that Peterborough had the worst bankruptcy rate in the UK 4.6 per cent, with Sunderland second on 1.8 per cent.

Scotland, in contrast, contained seven of the ten regions where business failures are lowest."