SIXTY-seven firms in Bournemouth’s telecommunications sector were suffering “significant” financial problems in the second quarter of this year, research has revealed.

The figure, revealed in Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert research, is a 43 per cent year-on-year increase and an 18 per cent increase on the previous quarter.

Automotive, real estate and property services, sport and health, travel and tourism, wholesale, food and beverages producers and food and drug retailers also saw an increase in significant financial distress.

However, other sectors in Bournemouth showed signs of recovery, with professional services, bars and restaurants, construction, financial services, media, hoteliers, support services and printing and packaging all seeing a fall in significant distress since the previous quarter.

The picture in Bournemouth reflected the national trend, with an overall fall in businesses facing significant distress both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. There were 853 businesses in Bournemouth in significant distress, down from 881 in the first quarter of 2016, and down four per cent year-on-year.

However, the overall number of businesses in “critical” financial distress rose from 10 to 12 year-on-year.

Julie Palmer, regional managing partner at Begbies Traynor’s Bournemouth office, said: “We have obviously been through a period of some uncertainty in the run-up to the referendum, but firms in many sectors have demonstrated they are well equipped to cope with the vagaries that periods of uncertainty bring, and they’ve clearly been getting on with business as usual.”

The figures show that in Q2 of 2016, 1,933 UK businesses were in “critical” distress, compared to 2,208 in Q1 of 2016. There has also been a five per cent year-on-year drop in the number of UK businesses in critical distress in Q2 of 2016 compared to Q2 of 2015, when there were 2,045 firms with critical problems.

Companies experiencing critical problems are defined as those with CCJs totalling over £5,000 within a three-month period, those with winding-up petitions against them or those which have entered corporate voluntary arrangements.

Year-on-year, leisure, tourism and food and drink were the worst affected sectors UK-wide, all seeing a rise in significant distress.