The number of businesses going into administration fell 46% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010, according to new figures released by Deloitte.

The business advisory firm found that from October to March, the number of company administrations was the lowest of any six-month period of the last four years.

Breaking the figures down by sector, the hospitality and leisure industries saw a 52% decrease in business failures while manufacturing administrations dropped by 48%.

"This year we have not seen this and the trend suggests that we may well have turned a corner," said Lee Manning, reorganisation services partner at Deloitte.

"Measures put in place by businesses, along with more versatile lender groups saw companies aggressively attacking costs and improving cash management throughout last year - clearly this has borne positive results."