LONDON (Reuters) — The number of profit warnings in Britain leaped 13 percent in the first half compared with the same period last year, amid higher interest rates and sluggish sales, accountancy firm Ernst & Young said yesterday.British quoted companies filed 191 profit warnings in the first six months of the year, the highest number since the end of the dotcom boom more than five years ago, the firm said in a report.

The warnings are "a reminder that segments of UK plc are struggling", said Keith McGregor, a Corporate Restructuring partner at Ernst & Young. Software and computer services, support services and retail were the sectors that issued most profit warnings, the study said.

A "shortfall in sales" was blamed for the profit warnings by 43 percent of the companies involved, while 22 percent cited "difficult trading conditions" and 17 percent gave "delayed or discontinued contracts" as their primary reason for warning.

"The combination of higher interest rates, rising mortgage payments and household bills has left consumers with the smallest proportion of discretionary income for five years," said Andrew Wollaston, corporate restructuring partner at Ernst & Young.