Company insolvencies fell 18 per cent in 2013, with even the construction and property sectors recording fewer collapses than in 2012, figures from

Vision-net

show. The business and credit risk analysis firm’s data also points to a 10 per cent increase in the number of company start-ups this year.

In the period to December 16th, 1,523 companies were declared insolvent – a rate of four per day. Of these, 986 companies were liquidated, 502 entered receivership and 35 companies were granted court protection from their creditors under the examinership process.

"2013 can be characterised as a year of improvement for Irish business, as trading conditions recovered and consumer sentiment strengthened," said Vision-net managing director Christine Cullen.

However, she warned that the hospitality, construction and IT sectors remain at high risk of collapse. The most vulnerable industry is hospitality, with two-thirds of hotels and restaurants classified as high risk by Vision-net.

The professional services and construction sectors were the worst performing industries in terms of insolvencies in 2013, accounting for 18.5 per cent and 18.2 per cent of company failures respectively. The number of construction company insolvencies fell 1.1 per cent, while the number of property firms declared insolvent dropped 2.5 per cent.