Monthly UK insolvency statistics - May 2023

The individual and company May 2023 insolvency statistics for England and Wales have been published by the Insolvency Service, together with related insolvency figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Company insolvency statistics for England and Wales – May 2023

In May 2023 there was a total of 2,552 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales, which included:

2,181 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
189 compulsory liquidations
31 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
151 administrations
0 receiverships

Overall company insolvencies in May 2023 were 40% higher when compared to May 2022.

In May 2023:

CVLs were 38% higher when compared to May 2022
compulsory liquidations were 34% higher when compared to May 2022
CVAs were 121% higher when compared to May 2022
administrations were 80% higher when compared to May 2022

Between 26 June 2020 and 31 May 2023, 44 companies obtained a moratorium and 21 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 2023

In May 2023, there were:

617 bankruptcies (521 debtor applications and 96 creditor petitions)
2,505 DROs
6,767 IVAs registered (using a three-month rolling average)

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies in May 2023 were 5% higher than in May 2022, with debtor applications 5% higher and creditor petitions 3% higher.

Debt relief orders

The number of DROs in May 2023 were 23% higher than in May 2022. It’s noted that DRO numbers may be volatile at present due to the introduction of new DRO hubs.

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 2023 were 14% lower when compared to the average number of registered IVAs during the three months ending May 2022.

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – May 2023

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland. They reported that in May 2023 there were 97 company insolvencies in total, 4% higher than the number in May 2022.

Total corporate insolvencies in Scotland in May 2023 consisted of:

35 compulsory liquidations
57 CVLs
5 administrations
0 receivership appointments
0 CVAs

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – May 2023

In Northern Ireland in May 2023 there were 11 company insolvencies. This was 45% lower than the number in May 2022. They consisted of:

8 CVLs
2 compulsory liquidations
1 CVA
0 administrations
0 administrative receiverships

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – May 2023

There were 188 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in May 2023. This was 31% higher when compared to May 2022. They consisted of:

154 IVAs
15 DROs
19 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 provides accurate and timely information to aid data driven decision-making. Our data is helping organisations like yours in areas such as:

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Our clients include the likes of leading banks and financial institutions, government departments and credit reference agencies. You too can benefit from the following Gazette data:

Personal bankruptcy
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Deceased estates
Gazette first & final (strike-off information)
Notice of company incorporation

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