Scottish insolvencies rise as confidence falls

SCOTTISH BUSINESSES are feeling the pinch as more businesses collapse compared to three months ago.

A recent KPMG report found that a third more businesses are entering liquidation in Scotland compared with the same period last year, the DailyRecord.co.uk reports.

In the third quarter of 2011, 303 companies entered the insolvency process compared with 228 for the same period in 2010, which is a 6% rise compared to the last quarter.

Corporate insolvencies rose by 5% for the third quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter and 29% compared with the same period a year ago.

Blair Nimmo, head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said: "The good news from the latest figures is that the number of companies affected by corporate insolvencies is still sitting at low levels relative to the total population of companies in Scotland and below the levels expected when we entered recession in 2008.

"Having said that, there is clearly a lack of confidence among the consumer and the corporate and this is no surprise in the context of the number of negative signals out there, be it inflation, unemployment, low or even non-existent annual salary increments, property prices, the lack of available finance, public sector spending cuts and sovereign debt problems in Greece and other European countries."