Insolvency experts have warned an end to recession could prove to be false dawn as companies are at their most vulnerable just as the economic climate changes.

Figures from the 1980s and 1990s recessions show that historically the early business recovery period is one of the most dangerous times for firms, with individuals affected too.

On both occasions, the peak in personal and corporate insolvencies came after the return to growth – in some cases a considerable time after.

The Association of Business Recovery Professionals, the trade body that is also known as R3, warned this “insolvency lag” was a real threat to businesses and individuals because although suppliers and landlords, for example, have been more flexible to businesses during recession, they are likely to become more aggressive as recovery comes.

The UK recession has finally ended, with the fourth quarter of 2009 seeing gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.1 per cent.

Preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed that the economy had seen a recovery in the final three months of the year after six successive quarters of contraction – the longest recorded UK recession since the 1930s.
The figures – which will be subject to revision upwards or downwards once more data emerges – were helped by a 0.1 per cent rise in the dominant service sector’s output and a 0.4 per cent growth in manufacturing.

However, those with debt management problems may find that such a small rate of growth does little in the near term to improve their financial prospects by offering any new opportunities such as better paid jobs to apply for.

The Consumer Credit Counselling service warned that a “scorpion’s tail of debt” will still sting many people this year from personal to business recovery.

Chairman of the body Malcolm Hurlston said: “While the growth in GDP is a sign that the economy has turned a corner, its effect on people’s lives will be slow.”

As technology continues to develop, a lot of major businesses are beginning to fall to their knees. From outdated businesses to mismanaged companies, business failures are a frequent news story, especially in times of economic ill-health such as these. What’s less common are stories of business successes, or more specifically, business comebacks.

These four business comebacks should serve as inspiration for young entrepreneurs, and some solid proof that the economy will rebound. From video games to motorcycles, take a look at the top 4 business comebacks of the last two decades.

1. Nintendo and the Wii

In the early 1990s, Nintendo were the king of the hill when it came to video games. Their Super Nintendo Entertainment System outsold all the competition, and it seemed that no one could throw Nintendo’s trademark characters off the video game podium.

Enter the Sony Playstation, and the game changed forever. Nintendo’s next two video game systems lost market share, until the company was left in 2005 as a shadow of what it had once been. Rather than doing what their competitors did, Nintendo created the Wii, a video game system that appealed to a wider audience, and ended up almost outselling all of its competitors combined.

2. Steve Jobs and Apple Inc.

In 1985, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple Computer, the company he founded as a college dropout. After some less successful forays into computing at NeXT, and some highly successful trips into animation at Pixar, Steve was hired back as the CEO of Apple Computer, now a struggling PC company with a bloated model line.

The next decade saw Steve Jobs completely redesign Apple, shredding away the uninspiring 90s image and bringing in a new focus on clean design and slick usability. From successes in computing with the iMac in the late 1990s to even bigger successes in music with the iPod in the early 2000s, Apple Inc. has gone from strength to strength since Steve’s return.

3. Mark Cuban and Broadcast.com

The 80s and 90s saw a string of successful businesses for Dallas-based entrepreneur Mark Cuban. After founding everything from a college bar to a software company, Mark’s biggest business success came with the founding of Audionet in 1995. Audionet, an online radio streaming company, quickly grew to include TV and sports broadcasts, and was later rebranded as Broadcast.com.

In 1999, Broadcast.com had grown to include over 300 employees, and was on track to clear $50 million in revenue for the year. Mark quickly got in touch with Yahoo, then a giant of the internet, and a buyout was arranged – Broadcast.net was acquired for almost $6 billion worth of Yahoo stock.

4. Ducati’s 90s Recovery

The late 1980s were marked by a series of semi-successful motorcycle launches for Ducati. Their trademark supersport bikes were still popular amongst enthusiasts and racing teams, but as an all-purpose entity their business was losing its appeal.

In the early 1990s, Ducati’s chief industrial designer, Miguel Angel Galluzzi, designed the Ducati Monster – a more rider-friendly bike designed to increase Ducati’s appeal amongst everyday riders and commuters. Launched in 1993, the Monster was a huge success, and still accounts for over 50% of Ducati’s sales to this day.

The World Bank has forecast increased global economic growth for the coming year after the passing of the “acute phase” of the world recession.

A report released on Thursday by the Washington-based group predicted 2.7 per cent world economic growth this in 2010 and 3.2 per cent for 2011. This follows a 2.2 per cent contraction in 2009.

However, the World Bank warned that economic and business recovery was “fragile”, with the rebound expected to slow at the end of the year “as the impact of the fiscal stimulus wanes”.

“A great deal of uncertainty clouds the outlook for the second half of 2010 and beyond,” the report said.

It warned that mishandling of the recovery could lead to a double-digit contraction in 2011, with a great deal depending on the managing and timing of withdrawals of large stimulus programmes and adjustments to monetary policy.

Justin Lin, World Bank chief economist, said: “Overall, these are challenging times.

“The depth of the recession means that even though growth has returned, countries and individuals will continue to feel the pain of the crisis for years to come.”

Business confidence among UK firms fell back in recent weeks, showing that the recovery from recession was likely to be “gradual and uneven”, a new report has found.

A survey of 200 companies by Lloyds TSB showed that just over half were more upbeat than a year ago, but one in five were more pessimistic.

Despite the dip, confidence levels are still higher than a year ago, said the report.

Distribution firms were more confident than services businesses about the outlook, while the biggest fall in confidence was reported in the North and Midlands.

Trevor Williams, chief economist at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, said: “Although confidence levels fell back at the end of the year, the context here is critical.

“Across the board, businesses are now far more optimistic about the economic outlook than they were 12 months earlier.

“The fact that confidence is not on a smooth upward path is another reminder that the pace of recovery may be gradual and uneven, but it is clear that overall optimism amongst firms is still growing.”

Hundreds of Scots are due to go bankrupt each week this year, reflecting the country’s “love affair with debt”, business experts have predicted.

Around 24,000 people in Scotland will be made bankrupt in 2010, according to accountants and business advisers PKF.

The firm predicts a record number of around 24,000 Scots will have been declared insolvent by the end of 2009 and that the same number will be affected this year.

Activity in Britain’s construction sector contracted for the 22nd month in a row in December as demand dried up.

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) said today that its purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 47.1 last month, up from November’s reading of 47. A mark below 50 signifies contraction.

David Noble, CIPS’s chief executive, said: “December was another disappointing month for the UK construction sector. Unlike other parts of the economy, it seems unable to escape the shackles of the recession, as it entered its 22nd successive month of decline.

“Purchasing managers painted a bleak picture as firms suffered from reduced client demand and falls in new business. As a result, contractors are competing aggressively to secure the relatively fewer new contract tenders there are in the market.”

Construction firms continued to shed jobs in December as work dried up. CIPS said many construction companies reported they were still restructuring their operations in line with lower workloads.