Monthly UK insolvency statistics - February 2023

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the individual and company February 2023 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.

In this release comparisons are made to both February 2022, at which time some support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic remained in place, and February 2020, which was before the start of the pandemic.

Company insolvency statistics for England and Wales – February 2023

In February 2023 there was a total of 1,783 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

1,505 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
158 compulsory liquidations
108 administrations
12 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in February 2023 were 33% higher when compared to February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 17% higher than insolvencies recorded in February 2022.

In February 2023:

CVLs were 13% higher when compared to February 2022 and 59% higher than in February 2020
compulsory liquidations were twice the number in February 2022, but 32% lower than February 2020
CVAs were four times higher when compared to February 2022, but 37% lower than February 2020
administrations were similar to February 2022, but 27% lower than February 2020

Between 26 June 2020 and 28 February 2023, 42 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 – February 2023

In February 2023, there were:

580 bankruptcies (518 debtor applications and 94 creditor petitions)
2,083 DROs
5,627 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in February 2023 were 3% lower than in February 2022 and this was driven by a fall in both debtor applications (2% lower) and creditor petitions (11% lower). Compared to February 2020, total bankruptcies were 63% lower.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in February 2023 were 7% lower than in February 2022 and 13% lower than in February 2020.

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 February 2023 were 12% lower when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending February 2022 but similar to the three months ending February 2020.

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – February 2023

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in February 2023 there were 81 company insolvencies in total, 11% higher than the number in February 2022, but 5% lower than in February 2020.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in February 2023 consisted of:

21 compulsory liquidations
57 CVLs
3 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – February 2023

In Northern Ireland in February 2023 there were 9 company insolvencies. This was 50% lower than the number in February 2022 and 67% lower when compared to February 2020. They consisted of:

6 CVLs
1 compulsory liquidation
2 CVAs
0 administrations
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – February 2023

There were 111 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in February 2023. This was 31% lower when compared to February 2022 and 59% lower when compared to February 2020. They consisted of:

87 IVAs
16 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.

Enquire now