Fewer Scots firms going under -KPMG

The global accounts said there was a 30 per cent year-on-year drop in the number of corporate insolvency appointments north of the border from July to September 2015.

The figures show a total of 177 corporate insolvency appointments in the quarter to September 30 this year.

This is compared to the previous three months of 214 appointments, a fall of 17 per cent, and to the 254 recorded over the same period in 2014.

KPMG also said that there were 158 liquidation appointments, which tend to affect smaller businesses, over the quarter, which was down from 239 in the three months to September 30 last year.

A nine-month comparison with the same period in 2014, meanwhile, shows a similar trend, with the number of businesses failing decreasing by 14 per cent from 733 in 2014 to 627 this year.

A nine-month comparison reveals an 18 per drop in liquidation appointments from 684 to 561.

But administrations – usually affecting larger companies – increased by 27 per to 19 in the three months to September 30, 2015, compared with 15 in the same quarter last year.

Administration appointments rose by 26 per cent to 66, compared with 49 in the nine months to September 30, 2014.

KPMG said the figures signal that business confidence is broadly on the rise in Scotland, while noting that challenges remain in sectors such as oil and gas.

Blair Nimmo, head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said that while the fall in insolvency appointments was encouraging, companies are not behaving bullishly about their future trading prospects.

Although economic indicators in areas such as employment and house prices are broadly positive, and that the trend towards fewer insolvencies was now fairly established, Mr Nimmo said “people are being careful with their cash”.

“They are not going out to borrow too much and keeping their cost base tight,” he added.

“Not many are saying trading is buoyant, but they are not experiencing the difficulties they were four or five years ago.”