Nearly 12,000 new businesses have been set up in Scotland since the start of the year, according to research from insolvency and restructuring trade body R3.
The figures are based on an analysis of data provided by Creditsafe, revealing 11,783 new businesses were set up during January, February, March and April.
March was the busiest month for Scottish start-ups, with 3,494 businesses being set up that month, followed by February (2,925) and January (2,715).
