Bust Scotland

About 1,000 companies will go bust and 12,000 Scots will be made bankrupt in the coming year, a report Business advisers BDO has predicted. Cooling consumer demand, geopolitical and financial uncertainty and potential interest rate rises were cited as causes for concern.

Bryan Jackson, business restructuring partner with 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… it is of concern that even six years after the start of the recession there are still so many firms going bust.”