More than 20 per cent fewer companies went to the wall in the first eight months of the year than during the same period in 2012, according to the latest figures. Insolvency specialists Kavanagh Fennell said yesterday that 920 companies failed during the first eight months of this year, 21 per cent fewer than the 1,170 that met the same fate over the same period in 2012. The firm, publisher of the Insolvency Journal, noted that there was positive news from across a number of key sectors.