BUSINESS failures fell by 3 per cent to 3,722 in England and Wales in the final quarter of last year compared with the previous three months, Government figures showed. In the year as a whole, there were 14,536 company insolvencies, compared with 16,728 in 1994, a decrease of 13.1 per cent, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

The number of individuals going bankrupt in the fourth quarter was 6,481, 2.4 per cent down on the previous quarter, taking the total for the year to 26,319 14.4 per cent fewer than in 1994.