Monthly UK insolvency statistics - October 2021

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the individual and company October 2021 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 – October 2021

In October 2021 the number of registered company insolvencies were similar to pre-pandemic levels. There was a total of 1,405 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,248 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
46 compulsory liquidations
95 administrations
16 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in October 2021 were 5 per cent lower when compared to October 2019 (pre-pandemic) but 63 per cent higher when compared to October 2020. When compared with the number of company insolvencies registered in October 2020 and October 2019:

CVLs were 85% higher when compared to October 2020 and 19% higher than in October 2019
compulsory liquidations were 31% lower than October 2020 and 81% lower than October 2019
CVAs were 24% lower than October 2020 and 56% lower than October 2019
administrations were 8% lower than October 2020 and 40% lower than October 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 October 2021, 15 companies obtained a moratorium and nine 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 – October 2021

As individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) numbers have been calculated using different methodology, they are presented separately to debt relief orders (DROs) and bankruptcies.

In October 2021, there were:

7,031 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)
1,937 DROs
601 bankruptcies (518 debtor applications and 83 creditor petitions)

Debt relief orders and bankruptcies

The number of DROs in October 2021 was 23 per cent higher than in October 2020 but 23 per cent lower than in October 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 in October 2021 were 44 per cent lower than in October 2020 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (47 per cent lower) and creditor petitions (22 per cent lower). Compared to October 2019, total bankruptcies were 57 per cent lower.

Individual voluntary arrangements

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 October 2021 were 14 per cent higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending October 2020 and 4 per cent higher than the three months ending October 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

Between 4 May (when the scheme was launched) and 31 October 2021 there were 32,082 breathing space registrations. These composed of:

31,651standard breathing space registrations
421 mental health breathing space registrations (for those receiving mental health crisis treatment)

In October 2021 there were 4,836 breathing space registrations. This was made up of 4,755 (98.3%) standard breathing space registrations and 81 (1.7%) mental health breathing space registrations.

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – October 2021

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in October 2021 there were 68 company insolvencies in total, 58 per cent higher than October 2020 but 18 per cent lower than October 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in October 2021 consisted of:

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

Company and individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – October 2021

In Northern Ireland in October 2021 there were 14 company insolvencies. This was 75 per cent higher when compared to October 2020 but 73 per cent lower when compared to October 2019. They consisted of:

12 CVLs
1 administration
1 compulsory liquidation
0 CVAs
0 administrative receiverships

There were 102 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in October 2021. This was 11 per cent lower when compared to October 2020 and 56 per cent lower when compared to October 2019. They consisted of:

95 IVAs
4 DROs
3 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 November 2021 will be released on 17 December 2021.

Company insolvency statistics – Q3 2021

UK individual insolvency statistics – Q3 2021

About The Gazette’s data service

What you need to know about Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill

Find out more

Monthly Insolvency Statistics October 2021 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)