The number of sports clubs and facilities entering formal insolvency procedures has fallen by a third in the year since the 2012 Olympic summer.
Sector insolvencies fell from 123 in 2011-12 to 82 in 2012-13, according to research by the insolvency trade body R3. By comparison, the total number of UK corporate insolvencies fell just 12 per cent over a similar period.
R3 Midlands chairman Richard Philpott, a partner at KPMG in the region, said: “Regular British sporting success, as well as the feelgood glow of the Olympics, may well have encouraged both children and adults to try new sports, join local teams, or keep on going with their gym membership.
“It would certainly be a positive Olympic legacy if any burst of grassroots interest in sport were to be sustained and translated into financially healthier sports clubs and facilities.”
The research, compiled by R3, also showed that sports-related insolvencies are now 42 per cent lower than they were five years ago, when the UK entered recession.
However, it added that despite the fall in sporting corporate failures, many sports clubs and facilities were still financially hard-pushed.
Mr Philpott continued: “Early periods of economic recovery, as we are currently experiencing, can be dangerous for businesses on the edge. Corporate insolvencies have historically increased in this situation. Businesses which cut back on investment to survive the recession may find they are unable to cope with the stresses of expansion and increased demand that economic recovery brings.
“In this context, any boost that clubs have received from the Olympics and subsequent national sporting achievements is particularly welcome.”
