The UK sub-prime map of Britain

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by Kay Murchie

A survey carried out by Experian has resulted in a ’sub-prime’ map of Britain which shows the risk of a debt crisis in each area.

Experian, the credit rating agency, carried out an extensive study and looked at the financial risk of every household in Britain and measured the likelihood of defaulting on their debts, particularly during an economic downturn.

A poor credit history (probably resulting from a county court judgment) several years ago makes an individual a sub-prime higher-risk borrower and as a consequence, unable to obtain cheap loans.

However, sub-prime borrowers are not necessarily the poorest, they are usually entitled to benefits and would use a loan shark to borrow money. However, they are probably now back on track and in employment.

Experian listed the number of sub-prime households by Parliamentary constituency. Of the 200 worst-affected seats, all but 14 are held by Labour.

The biggest risk was in Brightside, Sheffield. 72.2% of all households in the area, nearly 23,000 homes, matched Experian’s sub-prime profile.

The second was biggest risk was in Ladywood, Birmingham with 69.3% of households matching Experian’s sub-prime profile.