Scottish firms hold better credit ratings than rivals across the UK Scottish firms are less likely to go bust than those in the rest of Britain thanks to their better credit ratings, according to a new survey that further stokes the debate over whether independence would be better for the economy north of the Border. Data released yesterday by credit ratings agency Creditsafe claimed that companies in Scotland have an average rating seven points higher than those in England and Wales. Such credit ratings are used to predict the chances of a company becoming insolvent and are used for information by firms considering doing business with a company. Questions over separating Scotland from the rest of the UK have divided business leaders. Engineering tycoon Jim McColl and former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Sir George Mathewson have come out in favour of independence, while former chancellor Alistair Darling has banged the drum for the union, with others such as CBI Scotland director Iain McMillan maintaining scepticism. Others have so far simply called for further clarity over what independence would mean for Scotland in terms of European Union membership, levels of taxation and more specific topics, such as employment legislation. David Knowles, business development director at Creditsafe, said: "There is a lot of debate at the moment as to whether an independent Scotland would be good for its businesses or not. This research shows that Scottish companies, on the whole, have a higher level of creditworthiness and have a lower chance of entering insolvency than their counterparts in England and Wales. However, this does not necessarily mean Scottish companies would be better off going it alone. There is a huge amount of inter-connectivity between companies all across the UK. The firm rated companies north of the Border as having a "good" level of creditworthiness while those in the rest of Britain are ranked as "creditworthy." According to the company's figures, Scottish businesses have an average credit rating of 55, compared with a rating of 52 for England and Wales. The figures showed the biggest gap was in the health and community services sector, where Scotland scored 59 while England and Wales had a ­rating of 54. Accountants yesterday expressed surprise at the report's findings, after official figures released in July by the Office of the Accountant in Bankruptcy showed that Scottish firms are continuing to go bust at record rates. Updated statistics are due later this week. Bryan Jackson, a partner at accountancy firm PKF, said: "These findings aren't what I would expect. If anything, I would expect Scottish firm's credit ratings to slightly lag behind those for other parts of the UK. A lot of big retail chains and the like are based down south and London always distorts these kind of statistics. Donald McNaught, a director at Johnston Carmichael, said: "We're beginning to see a drop in insolvency work across the industry because a lot of companies don't have the money to go chasing cash that they're owed, or they don't want to bring down their key customers or suppliers by triggering legal ­action." The Scottish Government was unavailable for comment yesterday.