Monthly UK insolvency statistics - March 2022

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

In March 2022 there was a total of 2,114 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,844 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
131 compulsory liquidations
129 administrations
10 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in March 2022 were 34 per cent higher when compared to March 2019 (pre-pandemic) and more than double (113% higher) than insolvencies recorded in March 2021.

In March 2022:

CVLs were 109% higher when compared to March 2021 and 62% higher than in March 2019
compulsory liquidations were 297% higher than March 2021 but 45% lower than March 2019
CVAs were the same as March 2021 but 66% lower than March 2019
administrations were 74% higher than March 2021 but 26% lower than March 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 March 2022, 36 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 – March 2022

In March 2022, there were:

7,136 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)
2,512 DROs
633 bankruptcies (549 debtor applications and 84 creditor petitions)

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in March 2022 was 58 per cent higher than in March 2021 and 3 per cent lower than in March 2019. 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 March 2022 were 39 per cent lower than in March 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (41 per cent lower) and creditor petitions (20 per cent lower). Compared to March 2019, total bankruptcies were 59 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 March 2022 were 12 per cent higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending March 2021 and 14 per cent higher than the three months ending March 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

Between 4 May 2021 (when the scheme was launched) and 31 March 2022 there were 58,463 Breathing Space registrations. These composed of:

57,555 standard breathing space registrations
908 mental health breathing space registrations (for those receiving mental health crisis treatment)

In March 2022 there were 6,261 breathing space registrations. This was made up of 6,139 (98.1%) standard breathing space registrations and 122 (1.9%) mental health breathing space registrations.

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – March 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in March 2022 there were 86 company insolvencies in total, 100 per cent higher than March 2021 but 11 per cent lower than March 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in March 2022 consisted of:

9 compulsory liquidations
71 CVLs
6 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company and individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – March 2022

In Northern Ireland in March 2022 there were 20 company insolvencies. This was almost three times as many company insolvencies as March 2021 but 35 per cent lower when compared to March 2019. They consisted of:

12 CVLs
7 compulsory liquidations
1 administration
0 CVAs
0 administrative receiverships

There were 174 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in March 2022. This was 5 per cent lower when compared to March 2021 and 23 per cent lower when compared to March 2019. They consisted of:

134 IVAs
24 DROs
16 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 April 2022 will be released on 17 May 2022.

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 March 2022 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)