Monthly UK insolvency statistics - August 2022

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the individual and company August 2022 insolvency statistics for England and Wales have been published by the Insolvency Service, together with related insolvency figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Insolvency statistics for England and Wales following coronavirus lockdown

The Insolvency Service has been releasing monthly company and individual insolvency statistics for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as monthly company statistics for Scotland, throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and for a period thereafter.

However, these statistics are marked ‘experimental’ since the process of compiling insolvency data in monthly format is new to the statistics team at the Insolvency Service and is subject to review. The Insolvency Service also notes that as they do not record whether an insolvency is directly related to the coronavirus pandemic, as it is not possible to state its direct effect on insolvency volumes.

Company insolvency statistics for England and Wales – August 2022

In August 2022 there was a total of 1,933 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,662 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
142 compulsory liquidations
116 administrations
13 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in August 2022 were 73 per cent higher when compared to August 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 33 per cent higher than insolvencies recorded in August 2021.

In August 2022:

CVLs were 33% higher when compared to August 2021 and 73% higher than in August 2019
compulsory liquidations were 274% higher than August 2021, but 27% lower than August 2019
CVAs were 550% higher when compared to August 2021, but 57% lower than August 2019
administrations were 111% higher than August 2021, but 34% lower than August 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 August 2022, 40 companies obtained a moratorium and 11 companies had a restructuring plan registered at Companies House – two new procedures created by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020.

Individual insolvency statistics for England and Wales – August 2022

In August 2022, there were:

565 bankruptcies (491 debtor applications and 74 creditor petitions)
1,932 DROs
7,340 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in August 2022 were 10 per cent lower than in August 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (11 per cent lower) and creditor petitions (1 per cent lower). Compared to August 2019, total bankruptcies were 58 per cent lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in August 2022 were similar to August 2019, but 12 per cent higher than in August 2021.

Individual voluntary arrangements

As individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) numbers have been calculated using different methodology, they are presented separately to debt relief orders (DROs) and bankruptcies. Due to volatile data, the Insolvency Service provided three-month rolling averages for IVAs, which indicate what the overall trend of IVA registrations might look like.

IVAs in August 2022 were 5 per cent higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending August 2021 and 8 per cent higher than the three months ending August 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

In August 2022 there were 6,058 Breathing Space registrations. This is 25 per cent higher than the number in August 2021. The Breathing Space registrations in August 2022 comprised of:

5,971 Standard breathing space registrations, which is 25% higher than the number in August 2021
87 Mental Health breathing space registrations, which is 30% higher than the number in August 2021

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – August 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in August 2022 there were 105 company insolvencies in total, 18 per cent higher than the number in August 2021 and 33 per cent higher than in August 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in August 2022 consisted of:

37 compulsory liquidations
65 CVLs
3 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – August 2022

In Northern Ireland in August 2022 there were 14 company insolvencies. This was 56 per cent higher than in August 2021, but 36 per cent lower when compared to August 2019. They consisted of:

2 compulsory liquidations
10 CVLs
1 administration
1 CVA
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – August 2022

There were 125 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in August 2022. This was 16 per cent lower when compared to August 2021 and 39 per cent lower when compared to August 2019. They consisted of:

111 IVAs
10 DROs
4 bankruptcies

Where can I see insolvency notices in The Gazette?

The Gazette is the primary source of both corporate insolvency and personal insolvency information in the UK and publishes this information in the form of insolvency notices, allowing transparency for the public, the credit industry and concerned individuals to quantify risk and inform creditors. You can view all corporate and personal insolvency notices on The Gazette website.

The Gazette also provides a data service which gives access to official intelligence on all UK businesses, corporate and personal insolvencies. Benefits of The Gazette’s data service include:

Bespoke reports - tailored around your specific business
Geo-targeted editions - available for specific geographical targeting (National, London, Belfast, Edinburgh)
Custom filters - specific custom attributes (company number, notice type, key terms)
Data at regular intervals - delivered at a rate to match your business needs (daily, weekly, monthly)

For more information on The Gazette’s data service, contact the team on 01603 985949 or email data@thegazette.co.uk.

Enquire now