As many as 1,000 companies will fold and 12,000 Scots will be facing bankruptcy in 2015, a expert report has predicted.
Respected Business advisers BDO state that many companies have seen an economic improvement in the past year however it warned there were signs that the economy was seriously stalling.
Decreased consumer demand, geopolitical and financial uncertainty and potential interest rate increases were cited as real causes for concern.
Bryan Jackson, the business restructuring partner within BDO, said: “For many companies and individuals there is the prospect of another year of standing still as profits remain flat and incomes are static.
“The slightest change in any circumstances could have serious consequences. The number of businesses falling into insolvency is likely to be around 1,000.
“Many of these businesses may only be shell companies but it is of concern that even six years after the start of the recession there are still so many firms going bust.”
Mr Jackson claimed there were also signs that the number of people in Scotland being made bankrupt had levelled off. This is following a steady reduction since the peak in 2009, when 23,541 Scots were declared insolvent.
He added: “However, the third-quarter figure rose and there is every likelihood that personal insolvencies will remain around the 12,000 mark in the near future, which only in 2005 would have been a record figure in Scotland.”
He added: “There is concern that we may be celebrating a reduction in personal insolvency despite these numbers being very high in an historic context.”