36,000 businesses look set to fail this year, according to a report.

Accounting and business advisory organisation, BDO Stoy Hayward, has released its Industry Watch report that reveals one in 56 businesses (36,000) will fail in 2009, while the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has reported that there are now 10 applicants for every job advertised in the UK.

Business failures are predicted to increase by 59% compared with 2008. Most will occur in the construction and real estate sectors – 10,300 (3.2% of all businesses within the sector) are predicted to fail this year, while manufacturing businesses will also suffer with 2,300 (2.3%) going under.

BDO Stoy Hayward attributes the closures to the economy – the slowdown in consumer spending and corporate demand along with the lack of business confidence in general. 

Shay Bannon, Head of Business Restructuring at BDO Stoy Hayward, said: “Business failures are set to worsen before any improvement is seen. UK companies however are tightening their belts and taking more measures to adapt to the downturn. The Government is also increasing its initiatives to kick start the economy and both should have an effect on a glimmer of light eventually being seen at the end of a very long tunnel.

“However, because of the uncertainty among businesses on how long it will take for an upturn to emerge and lead to a more positive impact on their business, for some, surviving tomorrow will not be possible.”

It is anticipated that 2010 will be even worse for businesses, seeing an increase to one in 50 company failures.