Company insolvency statistics - May 2024

The May 2024 company insolvency stats for England and Wales have been published by The Insolvency Service, together with related figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Company insolvency statistics for England and Wales – May 2024

After seasonal adjustment there were 2,006 company insolvencies in May 2024. This was 6% lower than in April 2024 and 21% lower than the number in May 2023.

In May 2024 there were:

1,590 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
271 compulsory liquidations
126 administrations
19 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

CVLs

In May 2024, CVLs accounted for 79% of all company insolvencies. The number of CVLs was 5% lower than April 2024 and was 26% lower than May 2023 (May 2023, which saw a record high monthly number of CVLs in the time series going back to 2000), after seasonal adjustment.

Compulsory liquidations

The number of compulsory liquidations was 10% lower than in April 2024 and 27% higher than in May 2023, after seasonally adjustment.

Administrations

The number of administrations was 13% lower than in April 2024 and 20% lower than in May 2023 after seasonally adjustment.

CVAs

The number of CVAs was 37% lower than in April 2024, but 6% higher than in May 2023. Numbers remain low compared to historical levels.

Receivership appointments

There were no receivership appointments in May 2024. Receivership appointments are now rare with only two in the past 12 months.

Insolvency rate statistics for England and Wales – May 2024

The company liquidation rate in the 12 months to May 2024 was 55.6 per 10,000 companies on the effective register in England and Wales. This corresponds to 1 in 180 companies entering insolvency.

Company insolvencies by industry in England and Wales – May 2024

The three industries (in accordance with SIC 2007) that experienced the highest number of insolvencies in the 12 months to April 2024 were:

construction (4,401 insolvencies, 18% of cases with industry captured)
wholesale and retail trade and repair of vehicles (3,906 insolvencies, 16% of cases with industry captured)
accommodation and food services activities (3,821 insolvencies, 15% of cases with industry captured)

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – May 2023

The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland.

In May 2024 there were 118 company insolvencies, which was 22% higher than the number in May 2023. Of the total company insolvencies in Scotland, there were:

43 compulsory liquidations
71 CVLs
4 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receiverships

Historically, compulsory liquidations were the most common type of company insolvency in Scotland. However, since May 2020, numbers of CVLs have remained higher than numbers of compulsory liquidations.

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – May 2023

In May 2024 there were 44 company insolvencies in Northern Ireland, 300% (4 times) higher than in May 2023. Of the total company insolvencies, there were:

20 CVLs
22 compulsory liquidations
2 CVAs
0 administrations
0 administrative receiverships

Please note, the figures for Northern Ireland are not seasonally-adjusted.

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 provides timely official company, insolvency and deceased estates information to aid data driven decision-making. As the UK’s official public record, our authorised data can help your business with:

KYC/due diligence
risk management
regulatory compliance
business development
business intelligence and strategy

For more information on The Gazette Data Service, contact the team on 01603 985949, email data@thegazette.co.uk or click on the link below.

Enquire now

Next insolvency statistics release

Figures for June 2024 will be released on 19 July 2024.

Find out more

Company Insolvency Statistics May 2024 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

Images

Getty Images

Publication date

15 August 2024