Monthly UK insolvency statistics - January 2022

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the individual and company January 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 is releasing monthly company and individual insolvency statistics for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as monthly company statistics for Scotland, throughout the remainder of 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.

According to The Insolvency Service, the overall number of company insolvencies since the start of lockdown last year is likely to be impacted by the range of government measures put in place to financially support companies in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act.

Company insolvency statistics for England and Wales – January 2022

In January 2022 there was a total of 1,560 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,358 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
118 compulsory liquidations
71 administrations
13 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in January 2022 were 3 per cent higher when compared to January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and more than double (103% higher) than insolvencies recorded in January 2021.

In January 2022:

CVLs were 122% higher when compared to January 2021 and 34% higher than in January 2020
compulsory liquidations were 131% higher than January 2021 but 60% lower than January 2020
CVAs were 38% lower than January 2021 and 59% lower than January 2020
administrations were 3% lower than January 2021 and 58% lower than January 2020

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 January 2022, 15 companies obtained a moratorium and 10 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 – January 2022

In January 2022, there were:

6,281 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)
1,873 DROs
575 bankruptcies (507 debtor applications and 68 creditor petitions)

Debt relief orders and bankruptcies

The number of DROs in January 2022 was 59 per cent higher than in January 2021 but 15 per cent lower than in January 2020. Changes to DRO eligibility came into effect on 29 June 2021, including an increase in the level of debt at which people can apply for a DRO from £20,000 to £30,000. According to The Insolvency Service, the increase in the number of DROs registered since June 2021 is likely to have been caused by this expansion of the eligibility criteria.

Bankruptcies in January 2022 were 32 per cent lower than in January 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (32 per cent lower) and creditor petitions (31 per cent lower). Compared to January 2020, total bankruptcies were 63 per cent lower.

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 January 2022 were 10 per cent lower when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending January 2021 but 3 per cent higher than the three months ending January 2020.

Breathing Space registrations

Between 4 May (when the scheme was launched) and 31 January 2022 there were 46,406 Breathing Space registrations. These composed of:

45,710 standard breathing space registrations
696 mental health breathing space registrations (for those receiving mental health crisis treatment)

In January 2022 there were 5,279 breathing space registrations. This was made up of 5,207 (98.6%) standard breathing space registrations and 72 (1.4%) mental health breathing space registrations.

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – January 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in January 2022 there were 51 company insolvencies in total, 122 per cent higher than January 2021 but 30 per cent lower than January 2020.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in January 2022 consisted of:

14 compulsory liquidations
34 CVLs
3 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company and individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – January 2022

In Northern Ireland in January 2022 there were 18 company insolvencies. This was six times as many company insolvencies as January 2021 but 31 per cent lower when compared to January 2022. They consisted of:

12 CVLs
2 compulsory liquidations
0 administrations
3 CVAs
1 administrative receivership

There were 98 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in January 2022. This was 2 per cent higher when compared to January 2021 but 61 per cent lower when compared to January 2020. They consisted of:

77 IVAs
9 DROs
12 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

Next insolvency statistics release

Individual and company insolvency statistics for February 2022 will be released on 15 March 2022.

See also

Company insolvency statistics – Q4 2021

UK individual insolvency statistics – Q4 2021

About The Gazette’s data service

What you need to know about Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill

Find out more

Monthly Insolvency Statistics January 2022 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)