However, insolvency practitioner trade body R3 said the results actually mask a large number of corporate insolvencies that have yet to come through the system, with companies that have a turnover under £15m the most affected.

R3 president Steven Law said he had personally seen a 25% increase in the amount of formal insolvency work since the start of the year.

"Many cases remain in the pipeline and will not show up in today’s official figures. We would still expect a spike in the number of insolvencies in the five or six quarters following a recession because many businesses that suffered during the recession find it hard to borrow as lending requirements tighten," he added.

"Many of them will see ‘green shoots’ but will not be able to fund expansion, especially if interest rates increase. And when a recession ends and assets rise in value, creditors are encouraged to move ahead with more aggressive debt collection."

According to the IS figures, in the first quarter of 2010 administrations dropped 40.3% year-on-year to 783, which was also a drop of 66 administrations on the last quarter of 2009.

There were 4,082 liquidations in the period, a year-on-year drop of 17.8% and a drop of 375 on the previous quarter.

However, the number of Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) increased year-on-year by 30.8% to 204. Although this was a drop on the previous quarter (219), it was a figure still considerably higher than in the first three quarters of 2009.

The increase in CVAs could suggest that pre-pack administrations are receiving less support from suppliers, forcing insolvent companies to seek other routes in order to continue.

Receiverships also saw a slight increase of 12.7% year-on-year to 356, although they were down on the 397 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today (10 May) held interest rates at 0.5% for the 14th consecutive month. The announcement had been dealyed from last Thursday due to the general election.