BBC News - 06-02-2010
The number of Scottish businesses going bust rose sharply at the end of last year with manufacturing and construction the hardest hit.
Meanwhile, personal bankruptcy affected a growing number of homeowners and workers.
In the final quarter of last year, the number of Scottish businesses going under increased by 25% compared with the previous three months.
Leading accountancy firm PKF said it was the calm before the storm.
The onset of recession did not have as dramatic an effect for businesses, according to figures taken over the year.
Business failures in 2009 rose 11% over the previous 12 months, to a total of 584.
The largest increase in companies going into liquidation came from the manufacturing sector, followed by construction.
PKF's Scottish corporate recovery partner Bryan Jackson said: "I believe that, while these figures are not alarming, they are the calm before the storm," he said.
"There are clear signs that many businesses have simply been struggling to remain solvent over the last year.
"The expected upturn in the economy has not yet occurred and they are succumbing to financial pressures which have been building for some considerable time".
Further rise
Low interest rates and leniency in tax demands for companies has meant some firms have been able to hold off.
However, Mr Jackson added: "There are increasing indications that the economy is not picking up quickly enough to save many businesses which have been teetering on the brink of insolvency for some time, and I would expect the number of corporate failures to rise further in the coming year".
In 2009, almost 24,500 Scots were made bankrupt - nearly one in every 220 people.
That is almost twice the rate in England and Wales.
But new figures show bankruptcies have been growing among people who are working, but have very little equity in their house - equity they would once have used to pay debts.
See also:
Scotland 'will fall to 9th' in UK economic league table
Number of Scots declared insolvent increases 75 per cent
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