The number of companies experiencing ‘critical problems' - those with county court judgements totalling over £5,000 or winding-up petition-related actions - in the second quarter of 2008 increased by 30% from the first.

According to data released by business recovery company Begbies Traynor, there was also a seven-fold increase in the amount of companies experiencing such problems in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2007, with numbers rising from 542 to 4,258.

The statistics revealed a rise in such difficulties across all sectors but the worst affected were %) IT (371%), construction (up 370), and retail (335%). Financial services organisations were also hit hard, with a 300% increase.

"In times of economic slowdown, you would expect the construction and retail sectors to suffer," said Ric Traynor, executive chairman of Begbies Traynor Group.

"But the statistics also show that many other industry sectors, like financial services, are being affected by the current conditions and the gloom is certainly not restricted to those areas. Credit lines have dried up and companies which might have been supported by extended credit up to a year ago are now at real risk."