Monthly UK insolvency statistics - January 2023

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the individual and company January 2023 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 – January 2023

In January 2023 there was a total of 1,671 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,382 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
189 compulsory liquidations
86 administrations
14 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in January 2023 were 11% higher when compared to January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 7% higher than insolvencies recorded in January 2022.

In January 2023:

CVLs were 2% higher when compared to January 2022 and 37% higher than in January 2020
compulsory liquidations were 52% higher than January 2022, but 36% lower than January 2020
CVAs were 8% higher when compared to January 2022, but 56% lower than January 2020
administrations were 21% higher than January 2022, but 49% lower than January 2020

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 January 2023, 42 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 – January 2023

In January 2023, there were:

612 bankruptcies (518 debtor applications and 94 creditor petitions)
1,741 DROs
6,328 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in January 2023 were 5% higher than in January 2022 and this was driven by a rise in both debtor applications (2% higher) and creditor petitions (21% higher). Compared to January 2020, total bankruptcies were 60% lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in January 2023 were 7% lower than in January 2022 and 21% lower than in January 2020.

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 2023 were 1% higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending January 2022 and 6% higher than the three months ending January 2020.

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – January 2023

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in January 2023 there were 109 company insolvencies in total, 114% higher than the number in January 2022 and 51% higher than in January 2020.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in January 2023 consisted of:

53 compulsory liquidations
54 CVLs
2 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – January 2023

In Northern Ireland in January 2023 there were 14 company insolvencies. This was 22% lower than the number in January 2022 and 46% lower when compared to January 2020. They consisted of:

9 CVLs
1 compulsory liquidation
4 CVAs
0 administrations
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – January 2023

There were 123 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in January 2023. This was 26% higher when compared to January 2022, but 51% lower when compared to January 2020. They consisted of:

103 IVAs
15 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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