Figures from information services company Experian show that the business insolvency rate has stayed at 0.08% for the last quarter (February to April), for the first time since 2007.

The firm's Business Insolvency Index indicates a steady improvement over the last two years, with the average insolvency rate in the last year standing at 0.08%, compared to 0.09% for the previous 12 months.

Businesses at either end of the scale experienced low insolvency rates in April. Companies with one to two employees recorded a level of 0.06%, the same as the UK's largest companies (those with 501+ employees). For big companies, this was marked a drop from 0.12% last month and 0.08% the previous April.

Middle-sized firms also recorded a fall in insolvency levels. Companies with 26 to 50 employees saw their insolvency rate drop to 0.14% from 0.16% the year before. Smaller firms with 11-25 employees saw a year on year decrease from 0.17% to 0.16%.

Max Firth, managing director, Experian, said: 'We've seen that the insolvency rate has been decreasing for some time, but the fact that it is staying low is encouraging news. It's particularly pleasing to see that companies at both ends of the supply chain are improving all the time.'

Experian's research shows that businesses in Scotland continue to have the lowest rate of insolvency, which now stands at a record low of 0.03% for five months in succession.

Of the UK's five biggest industries, insolvencies in the building and construction sector and the leisure and hotels sector both fell by 0.01%. Other major industries that have seen big rate falls compared to April 2012 include both the food and non-food retail sectors.