Monthly UK insolvency statistics - February 2022

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

In February 2022 there was a total of 1,515 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,329 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
74 compulsory liquidations
109 administrations
3 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in February 2022 were 13 per cent higher when compared to February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and more than double (121% higher) than insolvencies recorded in February 2021.

In February 2022:

CVLs were 125% higher when compared to February 2021 and 40% higher than in February 2020
compulsory liquidations were 124% higher than February 2021 but 68% lower than February 2020
CVAs were 50% lower than February 2021 and 84% lower than February 2020
administrations were 95% higher than February 2021 but 26% lower than February 2020

Between 26 June 2020 and 28 February 2022, 33 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 – February 2022

In February 2022, there were:

6,384 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)
2,242 DROs
588 bankruptcies (495 debtor applications and 93 creditor petitions)

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in February 2022 was 61 per cent higher than in February 2021 but 6 per cent lower than in February 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

Bankruptcies in February 2022 were 36 per cent lower than in February 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (39 per cent lower) and creditor petitions (13 per cent lower). Compared to February 2020, total bankruptcies were 62 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 February 2022 were 4 per cent higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending February 2021 and 15 per cent higher than the three months ending February 2020.

Breathing Space registrations

Between 4 May 2021 (when the scheme was launched) and 28 February 2022 there were 52,201 Breathing Space registrations. These composed of:

51,415 standard breathing space registrations
786 mental health breathing space registrations (for those receiving mental health crisis treatment)

In February 2022 there were 5,795 breathing space registrations. This was made up of 5,705 (98.4%) standard breathing space registrations and 90 (1.6%) mental health breathing space registrations.

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – February 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in February 2022 there were 73 company insolvencies in total, 181 per cent higher than February 2021 but 15 per cent lower than February 2020.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in February 2022 consisted of:

10 compulsory liquidations
60 CVLs
3 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company and individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – February 2022

In Northern Ireland in February 2022 there were 18 company insolvencies. This was over three times as many company insolvencies as February 2021 but 33 per cent lower when compared to February 2022. They consisted of:

10 CVLs
4 compulsory liquidations
4 administrations
0 CVAs
0 administrative receiverships

There were 162 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in February 2022. This was 13 per cent higher when compared to February 2021 but 40 per cent lower when compared to February 2020. They consisted of:

122 IVAs
23 DROs
17 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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