THE number of insolvent companies in the north west has fallen to the lowest level in more than four years.

According to figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers, 278 firms in the region entered insolvency in the second quarter of this year, a drop of eight per cent since the beginning of 2004 and down by almost 25 per cent since the third quarter of 2002.

Business recovery experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers say the figures reflect the current strength of the economy.

The reduction in the rate of insolvencies in the north west is just below that of the UK as a whole which saw a nine per cent fall during the second quarter.

This region accounts for 14 per cent of all UK company insolvencies.