Report for final three months of year shows pressure driven by rising costs and weak consumer confidence

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The number of UK retailers on the brink of collapse soared by a quarter in the final three months of the year, driven by a combination of rising business costs and weak consumer confidence, according to a report.

Retail businesses classed as being in “critical” financial distress jumped 25% to 2,124 in the fourth quarter compared with the third, the insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor said.