The number of distressed British businesses has more than doubled since the start of the year in a sign of the effect of the global financial crisis on the “real economy”, a corporate restructuring company will reveal on Monday.

A “staggering” 4,566 companies faced critical problems, such as county court judgments against them totalling more than £5,000 or actions related to business winding-up petitions in the third quarter, according to Begbies Traynor. That compares with 791 in the same period last year.