Michelle Elliot

This figure comprised 60 Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations (CVLs), 38 compulsory liquidations, and five administrations. There were no Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) or receivership appointments.

The 12-month insolvency rate to February 2025 stood at 51.6 per 10,000 companies on the effective register, a slight decrease of 1.2 from the previous year.

Michelle Elliot, restructuring advisory partner at FRP in Glasgow, commented: “This is a wave of business failures growing in size.

“Companies are labouring under persistently weak demand and intensifying cost pressures – a squeeze that any business will struggle to sustain for long.

“And the cost challenge is only going to get worse in a few weeks’ time when the increases to National Insurance and the Minimum Wage come into effect.

“Although firms have been preparing for this as much as possible by reducing overheads, their efforts will only buy them so much time if they don’t also see an improvement in underlying trading conditions. In this environment, it’s critical that company directors continue to keep a laser focus on their performance metrics, and are proactive in the face of any trouble.”