Monthly UK insolvency statistics - December 2022

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

In December 2022 there was a total of 1,964 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,659 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
183 compulsory liquidations
112 administrations
10 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in December 2022 were 76% higher when compared to December 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 32% higher than insolvencies recorded in December 2021.

In December 2022:

CVLs were 22% higher when compared to December 2021 and 111% higher than in December 2019
compulsory liquidations were 259% higher than December 2021 and 8% higher than December 2019
CVAs were 43% higher when compared to December 2021, but 52% lower than December 2019
administrations were 56% higher than December 2021, but 20% lower than December 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 December 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 – December 2022

In December 2022, there were:

397 bankruptcies (321 debtor applications and 76 creditor petitions)
1,979 DROs
7,233 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in December 2022 were 13% lower than in December 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (16% lower). However, creditor petitions were higher than in December 2021 (3% higher). Compared to December 2019, total bankruptcies were 64% lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in December 2022 were 5% lower than in December 2019, but 6% higher than in December 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 December 2022 were 9% higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending December 2021 and 26% higher than the three months ending December 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

In December 2022 there were 4,803 Breathing Space registrations. This is 14% higher than the number in December 2021. The Breathing Space registrations in December 2022 comprised of:

4,691 Standard breathing space registrations, which is 15% higher than the number in December 2021
112 Mental Health breathing space registrations, which is 8% higher than the number in December 2021

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – December 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in December 2022 there were 114 company insolvencies in total, 23% higher than the number in December 2021 and 28% higher than in December 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in December 2022 consisted of:

22 compulsory liquidations
85 CVLs
7 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – December 2022

In Northern Ireland in December 2022 there were 15 company insolvencies. This was 67% higher than the number in December 2021, but 53% lower when compared to December 2019. They consisted of:

11 CVLs
2 compulsory liquidations
2 administrations
0 CVAs
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – December 2022

There were 123 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in December 2022. This was 53% higher when compared to December 2021, but 12% lower when compared to December 2019. They consisted of:

109 IVAs
7 DROs
7 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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Next insolvency statistics release

Individual and company insolvency statistics for January 2023 will be released on 14 February 2023.

Find out more

Monthly Insolvency Statistics December 2022 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Legislation)

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Publication date: 19 January 2023