Scottish corporate insolvencies rose 28% in the second quarter, when compared to the same period last year – driven by a more than 143% rise in compulsory liquidations.
The figures compiled by Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), an executive agency of the Scottish Government, also showed that the number of corporate insolvencies - liquidations and receiverships - increased by 10.7% compared with the previous quarter.
There were 2,069 personal insolvencies during the second quarter of 2022 - up 7.7% year-on-year.
Under the Debt Arrangement Scheme, there were 1,251 Debt Payment Programmes approved in the second quarter - up 9.9% from 1,138 for the same quarter in 2021.
There were 879 applications for moratoria granted in the second quarter - a decrease of 7.2% year-on-year.
Corporate insolvencies increased from 211 in the second quarter of 2021 to 270 during the same period this year.
Steven Jansch, head of business restructuring and support at Gilson Gray, commented: "These numbers are unfortunately not surprising, taking into account the end of a lot of the government Covid-19 support measures, the continued turmoil in financial markets, the increase in interest rates, and the rise of virtually all other costs that businesses face."
The Scottish figures reflect the UK market generally, with 265 UK companies going into administration between July and September, up from 176 during the same period in 2021.
Although these figures show significant increases, they are yet to hit the pre-pandemic levels of 401 administrations in the third quarter of 2019.
Jansch said: "The significant increases in interest rates is having and will continue to cause significant problems for companies with high levels of debt, as will labour shortages, increased labour costs, and soaring expenditure on costs like energy bills."
Iain Fraser, chair of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3's Scottish Technical Committee, said: "The quarterly and yearly increases in corporate insolvencies, to the highest level since the beginning of 2020, has largely been driven by a rise in the number of compulsory liquidations.
"Compulsory liquidations have risen more than 143% from the same period last year, and the key factor behind this is the end of the temporary legislation that altered the process and criteria for these, in an attempt to support businesses that were affected by the pandemic."
He added: "Scottish business owners need to think carefully about their next steps and plan for all scenarios - if there are issues coming up, like falling margins or overdue invoices, it’s far better to discuss them early when more options are available for finding a solution."
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