Publishing its latest Red Flag Alert data, business rescue and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor said Scottish firms had seen a starker increase in advanced distress levels than the rest of the UK in the second quarter of 2022.

According to the figures, the number of Scottish businesses facing more advanced “critical” distress (which refers to companies that have financial problems such as decrees of more than £5,000 filed against them) leapt by 132 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2021, while the UK as a whole saw an increase of 37 per cent since the same period the previous year.

The latest report also revealed a 71 per cent increase in this type of advanced distress in the country in the second three months of 2022 compared with the previous quarter. In contrast, there was a rise of just 3 per cent across the UK as a whole, quarter on quarter.