Hundreds more retailers are struggling to survive as they face their first quarterly rent payment day in 2009 tomorrow.

Corporate recovery expert Begbies Traynor fears the bills will push "a lot more retail companies into insolvency".

Its research shows that in December, following the last rent due day, it had 3630 companies with "significant problems", 80 with "critical problems" and there were 105 insolvencies. By February, those numbers had risen to 4278 significant problems, 120 critical and 146 insolvencies.

Begbies said that retailers' problems were being increased by the lateness of Easter, which meant their toughest quarter would see little of the usual pre-Easter sales pick-up.

Begbies' Nick Hood said: "The prospects for the retail sector remain tough.

"Two new challenges are now impacting them, namely the continuing weakness of sterling, forcing up costs at the worst possible time, and the deluge of negative news on jobs, which continues to savage consumer confidence.

"We are still likely to see insolvencies of well known retail chains in the high single digits over the next three months."