Men are two-and-a-half times more likely to file for bankruptcy than their female counterparts, according to research by Tenon Recovery.

Men are two-and-a-half times more likely to file for bankruptcy than their female counterparts, according to research by Tenon Recovery. The advisory firm suggests that women’s strong organisational skills could go some way to explaining why they are better at managing their finances than men.

Tenon’s analysis of more than 600 appointments as trustee in bankruptcy revealed the South East as the “bankruptcy capital” of the UK, with 24 per cent of the bankruptcies filed coming from the region last year, followed by the North East at 14 per cent and the West Midlands at 13 per cent.

The findings also showed that February is the month that individuals are most likely to go bust, while the fewest number of bankruptcies are filed in December.

Carl Jackson, head of Tenon Recovery, said: “We estimate that 24.1 million people started 2009 in debt – an increase of 4.7 per cent on the previous year, and February will be crunch time.

“People need to face up to their financial responsibilities rather than turning a blind eye to money woes hoping that they will disappear – they won’t, and early action can help to avoid bankruptcies.”