A total of 250 Scottish businesses went bust in the second quarter of 2014, a 35.9% increase on the same period last year.
Official figures from the Accountant in Bankruptcy showed the level of business failures rose 2.4% from the first quarter of the year.
BDO business restructuring partner Bryan Jackson said, with the recovery beginning to take hold, it remains to be seen how many businesses have ensured they are financially secure enough to cope with increased interest rate rises, both in terms of rising costs for themselves and the impact on consumer confidence and spending.
“In addition, with the eurozone experiencing a more limited recovery than the UK, the growth prospects of businesses dependent upon such markets could be hampered.”
Yvonne Brady, head of corporate restructuring at HBJ Gately, said the figures equate to six more businesses going to the wall in the second quarter of the year compared with the first.
“As fiscal and other economic activity increases, businesses which are not strong enough to begin trading more robustly will fold as part of a normal process of post-recession consolidation. This is in fact a positive sign that the market is ‘re-shuffling’ and preparing for a new growth phase.”