FIRMS in Dorchester are the least likely in the UK to fail, according to researchers.

The county town has the lowest insolvency rate in the country, according to new research.

Credit insurer Euler Hermes UK said Dorchester’s insolvency rate of 0.17 per cent ranks it in first place on a list of 10 British towns and cities managing to keep the recession at bay.

The national average insolvency rate is 1.12 per cent.

The failure rate of Dorchester businesses has fallen from 0.20 per cent to 0.17 per cent – a fall of 18 per cent year-on-year, the data said.

Dorchester’s fortune contrasts with businesses in Yorkshire and Humberside that are failing at a faster rate than any others in the UK. Sunderland recorded an insolvency rate of 2.74 per cent.

The Dorchester Business Improvement District’s long-term aim has been to raise the profile of the town since it was set up two years ago. Phil Gordon, of the BID, said: “Everyone who has a business in Dorchester should feel very proud.

“I think the BID was at least part of the success story in making Dorchester a more vibrant place to be based in.

“There is an overwhelming feeling of optimism here and that has been moving like a runaway train.

“If we could distil what Dorchester’s got and bottle it up then I’m sure we could make Dorchester even more successful.

“This town is far more than an average town and people’s glasses are half full.

“The power of the positive is a valuable commodity and we have that in spades here.”

Mr Gordon said other organisations such as West Dorset District Council’s business support team and Dorchester Chamber of Commerce have helped the town earn its top ranking.

Retailers said they were glad to call the town home.

Robin Clark, owner of Meridian Shoes in South Street, said business had been up 20 per cent on the previous year.

He added: “The Dorchester BID really seems to do something for the town. They are always working on something.

“One of the main things we have is a council that charges reasonable prices for people to come and park all day.”

Jan Hector and Paul Cashmore are opening a French furniture store in Durngate Street in the new year.

Jan said “I think Dorchester is the right place for us with a mix of people. People here seem to be loyal customers.

“The town seems to be successful because of its number of independent shops.”

Businesswoman Judith Brooks, managing director of Veloce Publishing, has recently moved her 14 staff members from the town centre to larger premises in Poundbury.

She said that Dorchester ‘has a magical feel about it’.

“We’re quite a specialist business and to a certain extent we’re not affected by the recession.

“We’ve grown organically, taking on local people.

“We’ve got a lot of loyal customers and Dorchester has a magical feel about it – I don’t know what it is.”

But husband and wife traders Lesley and John Martin, who run Stuart Turners confectionery shop in the Tudor Arcade, say it’s not as easy to have a successful business in Dorchester as the report makes out.

Lesley said: “We’ve been here for 24 years but we’re closing down in March. We won’t be able to afford the rent, which is doubling.”