Scottish insolvencies to increase

MORE SCOTTISH individuals and businesses will go bust in 2012, a new report has warned.

A PKF report has predicted that an average of 25 Scottish businesses a week will be declared insolvent, equating to 1,300 throughout the year. The latest insolvency figures show that 361 companies in Scotland went bust in the third quarter of 2011, the highest recorded and a 46.2% increase compared with the third quarter of 2010.

Bryan Jackson, PKF corporate recovery partner, said: "These figures tell their own story and indicate that whole swathes of Scottish business are being adversely affected by the continued economic downturn.

"Whilst we are not seeing many large businesses go under we are seeing dozens of smaller businesses collapse."

The report also predicted an increase in Scottish personal bankruptcies. It predicts that 20,000 people will be declared insolvent in 2012 based on rising bankruptcy and trust deed figures over the first three quarters of 2011. It also said that affluent Scots would be affected.

Jackson said: "The dramatic rise in the number of more affluent Scots being made bankrupt is a further sign that the after-effects of the recession are spreading among all sectors of society, with the result that I believe all personal insolvencies will continue to rise and remain at high levels for several years to come."