Scottish business failures down in quarter, says KPMG
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
Company insolvencies dropped 19 per cent to 170 from 211 in the same three months last year, data from business advisory and accountancy major KPMG revealed.
• READ MORE: ‘Critical’ distress levels on the slide in Scotland
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe latest research, which includes businesses going into liquidation and administration, will be seen as a positive sign for the Scottish economy’s performance following the Brexit vote and ahead of this June’s UK general election.
Blair Nimmo, head of restructuring for KPMG in the UK, said: “While insolvencies are inevitable in a corporate environment, the latest statistics present a good picture for Scotland, and we have returned to what we would call ‘normal’ or ‘business as usual’ levels.
“We have seen some stability return to the oil and gas sector, and while there remains some critical issues, at no point over the past three years have we experienced the level of sector-related insolvencies which might have been expected, given the drastic reduction in the oil price.”
The insolvency decrease is twofold, with liquidations – which usually affect smaller businesses – down 20 per cent, and administrations, more linked with bigger companies, 14 per cent lower.
KPMG’s report follows recent figures from the Federation of Small Businesses, which indicated business confidence had improved in the first quarter of this year.