Monthly UK insolvency statistics - November 2022

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

In November 2022 there was a total of 2,029 company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,595 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
290 compulsory liquidations
134 administrations
10 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in November 2022 were 35% higher when compared to November 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 21% higher than insolvencies recorded in November 2021.

In November 2022:

CVLs were 5% higher when compared to November 2021 and 50% higher than in November 2019
compulsory liquidations were 437% higher than November 2021 and 7% higher than November 2019
CVAs were the same as in November 2021, but 52% lower than November 2019
administrations were 44% higher than November 2021, but 11% lower than November 2019

Between 26 June 2020 and 30 November 2022, 40 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 – November 2022

In November 2022, there were:

546 bankruptcies (445 debtor applications and 101 creditor petitions)
2,269 DROs
7,801 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in November 2022 were 16% lower than in November 2021 and this was driven by a drop in debtor applications (19% lower). However, creditor petitions were higher than in November 2021 (2% higher). Compared to November 2019, total bankruptcies were 60% lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in November 2022 were 4% lower than in November 2019, but 10% higher than in November 2021.

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 November 2022 were 11% higher when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending November 2021 and 14% higher than the three months ending November 2019.

Breathing Space registrations

In November 2022 there were 6,796 Breathing Space registrations. This is 40% higher than the number in November 2021. The Breathing Space registrations in November 2022 comprised of:

6,689 Standard breathing space registrations, which is 40% higher than the number in November 2021
107 Mental Health breathing space registrations, which is 19% higher than the number in November 2021

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – November 2022

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in November 2022 there were 118 company insolvencies in total, 13% higher than the number in November 2021 and 36% higher than in November 2019.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in November 2022 consisted of:

42 compulsory liquidations
72 CVLs
3 administrations
1 CVA
0 receivership appointments

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – November 2022

In Northern Ireland in November 2022 there were 20 company insolvencies. This was more than double the number in November 2021, but 35% lower when compared to November 2019. They consisted of:

16 CVLs
2 compulsory liquidations
2 CVAs
0 administrations
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – November 2022

There were 146 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in November 2022. This was 24% lower when compared to November 2021 and 48% lower when compared to November 2019. They consisted of:

134 IVAs
9 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.

Enquire now

Next insolvency statistics release

Individual and company insolvency statistics for December 2022 will be released on 17 January 2022.

Find out more

Monthly Insolvency Statistics November 2022 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Legislation)

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Publication date: 19 December 2022