Monthly UK insolvency statistics - October 2022

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the individual and company October 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 – October 2022

In October 2022 there was a total of 1,948 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,594 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
242 compulsory liquidations
107 administrations
5 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in October 2022 were 32% higher when compared to October 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 38% higher than insolvencies recorded in October 2021.

In October 2022:

CVLs were 28% higher when compared to October 2021 and 53% higher than in October 2019
compulsory liquidations were 357% higher than October 2021 and 2% higher than October 2019
CVAs were 69% lower when compared to October 2021 and 86% lower than October 2019
administrations were 13% higher than October 2021, but 33% lower than October 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 October 2022, 40 companies obtained a moratorium and 12 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 – October 2022

In October 2022, there were:

531 bankruptcies (469 debtor applications and 62 creditor petitions)
1,894 DROs
7,610 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in October 2022 were 14% lower than in October 2021 and this was driven by a drop in both debtor applications (9% lower) and creditor petitions (37% lower). Compared to October 2019, total bankruptcies were 62% lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in October 2022 were 25% lower than in October 2019 and 2% lower than in October 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 October 2022 were 8% higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending October 2021 and 13% higher than the three months ending October 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

In October 2022 there were 6,342 Breathing Space registrations. This is 31% higher than the number in October 2021. The Breathing Space registrations in October 2022 comprised of:

6,230 Standard breathing space registrations, which is 31% higher than the number in October 2021
112 Mental Health breathing space registrations, which is 38% higher than the number in October 2021

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – October 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in October 2022 there were 82 company insolvencies in total, 22% higher than the number in October 2021 and 1% higher than in October 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in October 2022 consisted of:

19 compulsory liquidations
55 CVLs
8 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – October 2022

In Northern Ireland in October 2022 there were 15 company insolvencies. This was 7% higher than in October 2021, but 71% lower when compared to October 2019. They consisted of:

12 CVLs
3 administrations
0 compulsory liquidations
0 CVAs
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – October 2022

There were 161 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in October 2022. This was 58% higher when compared to October 2021, but 31% lower when compared to October 2019. They consisted of:

145 IVAs
11 DROs
5 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.

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