Monthly UK insolvency statistics - May 2022

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

In May 2022 there was a total of 1,817 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,584 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
135 compulsory liquidations
84 administrations
14 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in May 2022 were 34 per cent higher when compared to May 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 79% higher than insolvencies recorded in May 2021.

In May 2022:

CVLs were 70% higher when compared to May 2021 and 66% higher than in May 2019
compulsory liquidations were 297% higher than May 2021, but 50% lower than May 2019
CVAs were more than double as May 2021 but 55% lower than May 2019
administrations were 95% higher than May 2021, but 12% lower than May 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 May 2022, 38 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 – May 2022

In May 2022, there were:

566 bankruptcies (497 debtor applications and 69 creditor petitions)
2,030 DROs
7,812 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in May 2022 were 23 per cent lower than in May 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (23 per cent lower) and creditor petitions (19 per cent lower). Compared to May 2019, total bankruptcies were 61 per cent lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in May 2022 was 33 per cent higher than in May 2021, but 11 per cent lower than in May 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.

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 May 2022 were 6 per cent higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending May 2021 and 10 per cent higher than the three months ending May 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

In May 2022 there were 5,749 Breathing Space registrations. This is 6% lower than the number in May 2021. The Breathing Space registrations in May 2022 comprised of:

5,638 Standard breathing space registrations, which is 7% lower than the number in May 2021
111 Mental Health breathing space registrations, which is 136% higher than the number in May 2021

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – May 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in May 2022 there were 93 company insolvencies in total, 82 per cent higher than May 2021 and 19 per cent lower than May 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in May 2022 consisted of:

19 compulsory liquidations
68 CVLs
6 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company and individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – May 2022

In Northern Ireland in May 2022 there were 20 company insolvencies. This was 2.6 times as many company insolvencies as May 2021, but 50 per cent lower when compared to May 2019. They consisted of:

3 compulsory liquidations
17 CVLs
0 administrations
0 CVAs
0 administrative receiverships

There were 144 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in May 2022. This was 26 per cent lower when compared to May 2021 and 39 per cent lower when compared to May 2019. They consisted of:

128 IVAs
8 DROs
8 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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