Monthly UK insolvency statistics - July 2022

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

In July 2022 there was a total of 1,827 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,609 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
132 compulsory liquidations
81 administrations
5 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in July 2022 were 27 per cent higher when compared to July 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 67 per cent higher than insolvencies recorded in July 2021.

In July 2022:

CVLs were 60% higher when compared to July 2021 and also 60% higher than in July 2019
compulsory liquidations were 200% higher than July 2021, but 47% lower than July 2019
CVAs were 17% lower when compared to July 2021 and 87% lower than July 2019
administrations were 103% higher than July 2021, but 45% lower than July 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 July 2022, 39 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 – July 2022

In July 2022, there were:

531 bankruptcies (461 debtor applications and 70 creditor petitions)
1,835 DROs
7,608 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in July 2022 were 16 per cent lower than in July 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (14 per cent lower) and creditor petitions (29 per cent lower). Compared to July 2019, total bankruptcies were 64 per cent lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in July 2022 were similar to July 2021, but 23 per cent lower than in July 2019.

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 July 2022 were 11 per cent higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending July 2021 and 4 per cent higher than the three months ending July 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

In July 2022 there were 6,112 Breathing Space registrations. This is 10 per cent higher than the number in July 2021. The Breathing Space registrations in July 2022 comprised of:

5,994 Standard breathing space registrations, which is 10% higher than the number in July 2021
118 Mental Health breathing space registrations, which is 34% higher than the number in July 2021

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – July 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in July 2022 there were 70 company insolvencies in total, similar to the number in July 2021 but 28 per cent lower than July 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in July 2022 consisted of:

15 compulsory liquidations
55 CVLs
0 administration
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – July 2022

In Northern Ireland in July 2022 there were 14 company insolvencies. This was the same number of company insolvencies as July 2021, but 33 per cent lower when compared to July 2019. They consisted of:

1 compulsory liquidations
10 CVLs
3 administrations
0 CVAs
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – July 2022

There were 160 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in July 2022. This was 13 per cent higher when compared to July 2021 but 19 per cent lower when compared to July 2019. They consisted of:

142 IVAs
12 DROs
6 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