The Spectator

Barometer | 18 January 2018

Also in Barometer: Britain’s biggest corporate failures; rough-sleeping blackspots; forests of statistics

issue 20 January 2018

Big losers

Construction company Carillion collapsed with debts of £1.5 billion. How does that compare with other UK corporate failures?
Overend Gurney & Co, a bank, collapsed in 1866 with £4 million in liabilities (£400 million at today’s prices).
Polly Peck failed after a fraud probe with £100 million in debts (£217 million).
Barings Bank failed in 1995 after rogue trader Nick Leeson ran up £827 million of losses (£1.55 billion).
MG Rover failed in 2005, leaving behind £1.4 billion of debt (£2 billion).
Northern Rock was saved in 2007 after the government provided emergency loans to the tune of £27 billion (£35.7 billion).




Rough areas

A petition called for homeless people not to be removed from the streets of Windsor for the royal wedding in May. Which areas have the most recorded rough sleepers?

LOCAL AUTHORITY NUMBER
Westminster 260

Brighton and Hove 144
Cornwall 99
Manchester 78
Luton 76
Bristol 74

Forest of statistics

Plans to plant a 62,000-hectare forest across the north of England were announced.

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