Grim tally of 1,170 business deaths a day

The hassle facing small business are well-documented, what with lending tight and inflation high, but the numbers failing to make a go of it are still pretty shocking.

Because according to the Office of National Statistics, there were 1,170 business deaths every working day of the year in 2010.

Records show that 297,000 businesses deregistered for taxes last year, effectively signalling that the owners had given up the ghost.