Fifth of all failures in 2009 were in construction and property

Construction and property firms accounted for 21% of all businesses falling into administration in 2009, according to accountancy firm Deloitte.

Despite the high number, its latest numbers show the industry saw 5% less companies going under than in 2008.

Out of a total of 3,188 companies that went into administration last year, 683 were from the property and construction industry. The figure compares with 716 in 2008.

Deloitte noted that overall administrations were down in the final quarter of 2009 compared with the previous quarter, although Lee Manning, a partner at the firm, urged caution.

He said: “We would not expect the rate at which administrations have declined in the past two quarters to continue. If anything, we would expect a modest increase in the first quarter of this year.”