By Holly Williams, PA Business Editor & Lawrence Matheson A report has warned that the number of firms on the brink of collapse jumped by more than a quarter at the end of 2023 due to fears over a “debt storm” caused by recent interest rate rises. The latest Red Flag Alert report from insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor found that 47,477 firms were in critical financial distress in the final three months of last year. This was up 25.9% on the previous three months and marked the second quarter in a row where critical financial distress had grown by about a quarter. Begbies also said that 539…