R3 (The Association of Business Recovery Professionals) has said that the peak in insolvencies may be due to suppliers and landlords becoming more aggressive in their quest for payments, whereas during recession, they tend to be lenient as every customer becomes vital in hard times.

New research by R3 have shown the peak in company insolvencies came 5 financial quarters after emerging from recession in the 90s with individuals taking a further 3 months.  The early 1980sm recession showed that the lag can take even longer for it to take effect, with it taking four years for corporate insolvencies to hit their peak.  The lag comes because a recovery period takes a considerable amount of time before the beneficiaries filter through to businesses, however suppliers will ignore this as they try to recuperate their losses from the recession.  

R3 say they are predicting that around 28000 companies to become insolvent with the figure staying similarly high in 2011 as the lag continues to take effect.  A survey conducted has also revealed that the vast majority of UK businesses are also ignorant of the impending lag and therefore ill prepared for the worst as it will begin to take effect.

Peter Sargent, partner at leading business recovery specialist Begbies Traynor, said he expected insolvencies to peak during the next two financial years.

"As widely anticipated, today's GDP estimates for the fourth quarter of 2009 have confirmed that the UK has emerged from technical recession after the longest period of negative growth in more than 50 years," he said. "Whilst this represents a small positive step, the risk of a double-dip recession remains a real threat and sadly confirms that for many businesses a true economic recovery remains uncertain.