More companies become insolvent

Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland.

1. The number of Scottish firms going into insolvency increased in the first six months of the year.

Official data The Insolvency Service shows 633 companies in liquidation, administration or receivership in January to June.

That is up from 623 in the first half of 2023 and still higher than typical pre-pandemic levels.

Michelle Elliot, restructuring advisory partner at FRP in Glasgow, said it may take some time for reduced inflation and slightly stronger economic growth prospects to feed through to the data.

She said: “We’re still seeing the long-term effects of years of challenging conditions work through supply chains, and businesses are still waiting for respite from high