The Telegraph: North Sea Oil Bankruptcy Risk Surges Amid Calls for Tax Cuts
The number of British oil and gas related companies at risk of going bankrupt has increased by almost three quarters amid a steep decline in the fortunes of the North Sea following a plunge in the price of crude.
Data from insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor released exclusively to The Telegraph shows that the number of UK oil and gas businesses experiencing “significant” financial distress increased by 69pc to 486 in the fourth quarter, compared with 288 companies a year earlier.
“We expect there to be a major wave of consolidation in the industry as businesses race against time to deliver cost synergies or face falling into greater distress,” said Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor. “In the absence of successful consolidation, we expect that as many as 50 companies in the sector face administration in the next eighteen months.”
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