LONDON (Reuters) — The number of corporate profit warnings in Britain rose to 51 in January from 39 over the same period last year, accountancy firm Ernst & Young said yesterday.Corporate insolvencies also rose by more than the 11 percent reported over the same period in 2006, Ernst & Young said.

Rising interest rates and a record number of personal insolvencies are expected to accelerate the number of corporate failures. However, this won’t happen until next year because of high liquidity in the market, Ernst & Young said.

“We are unlikely to see restructuring activity pick up in larger companies until mid-2008 due to the wall of liquidity in the debt capital markets and the cushion provided by today’s typically complex and long-dated debt structures,” the accountancy firm said.

Most of the companies getting into trouble will be small businesses, said Alan Hudson, a corporate restructuring partner at Ernst & Young.