Monthly insolvency statistics – October 2024

Corporate Insolvencies

England and Wales

The continuing trend of lower levels of Corporate Insolvencies continued when comparing both the month-on-month statistics and those of the prior year in October 2023.  This may have been driven by a “wait and see” attitude ahead of the Budget however with the high-profile administration of Homebase on 13 November 2024 it feels a little counter intuitive with lower consumer confidence denting the sales figures.

Corporate insolvencies totalled 1,747 in October 2024, 24% lower than October 2023.

The reduction in appointments was seen across all types of appointments. The monthly average for August 2023 to December 2023 was 2,208 compared to an average of 1,873 for August 2024 to October 2024.

Creditors Voluntary Liquidations (“CVLs”) totalled 1,445, 24% lower than October 2023.

 Compulsory Liquidations (“WUCs”) totalled 188, 20% lower than October 2023.

There were 100 Administration appointments which was 28% lower than October 2023. 

There were 12 CVAs in October 2024, 48% lower than October 2023.

Scotland

In October 2024 there were 116 company insolvencies registered in Scotland, 18% higher than October 2023. There were 60 compulsory liquidations, 50 CVLs, 5 Administrations and one Receivership appointment. There were no CVA appointments.

Northern Ireland

In October 2024 there were 31 company insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, 15% higher than October 2023. This is comprised of 12 CVLs, 17 compulsory liquidations, one Administration and one CVA.  There were no receiverships appointments.

Personal Insolvencies

England and Wales

There were 8,952 individual insolvencies in October 2024, on a par with October 2023 (9,100) but a 14% decrease from the numbers seen last month (10,460).

The last six months have recorded the six highest Debt Relief Orders (DRO’s) since their introduction in 2009, with 4,061 applications in October. This comes after the removal of the £90 administration fee in April 2024, and the eligibility criteria changing in June 2024, allowing liabilities of £50,000 (previously £30,000).

Given the recent threshold changes to DRO eligibility, creditors may have concerns that the process is susceptible to abuse. It will require careful monitoring by the authorities to ensure that creditors are protected from such abuse.

The permitted car value has also doubled, effective from 28 June 2024. Previously, if your car was valued at more than £2,000, you would not be eligible for a DRO, however, the value has been increased to £4,000.

With DRO’s now increasingly being the debt solution of choice for many, bankruptcy numbers have deceased, with the total number of bankruptcies in October (630), being slightly lower than the last 12-month average (655), and still significantly lower than pre-covid levels.

In October there were 160 creditor petitions, with HMRC leading the push on filing petitions, showing a marginal increase on the previous 12-month average of 152.

Debtor’s applications are being replaced by DRO applications by many of those with liabilities between £30,000 and £50,000. The numbers are beginning to reflect this, with debtor’s bankruptcy applications dropping to 436 in October, compared to 518 in the same month last year.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) numbers over the past year have been significantly lower than during 2022. The number of IVA’s registered in October (4,563) was lower than the average monthly number seen over the last 12 months. This month’s figure was 13% lower than October 2023 (5,247) and has dropped 23% on the slight peak seen in the numbers last month (5,926).

There were 7,099 Breathing Space (BS) registrations for October, a 7% decrease in registrations from October 2023 (7,637). Standard BS registrations stood at 7,002 and 97 were mental health BS registrations.

The numbers continue to indicate that BS applications have levelled out, although, this procedure is merely a pause in the process and the individuals concerned will still have to deal with their indebtedness.

The numbers suggest that those exiting a BS application are being sign-posted to a DRO as their chosen exit route once the BS period had expired.

Plans to modernise the current Personal Insolvency framework could result in a single gateway to enable people to access independent, regulated debt advice, via a digital platform, or dovetailed with the current BS scheme, which may see the removal of previous barriers into appropriate and regulated insolvency procedures.

Scotland

The Accountant in Bankruptcy produces individual insolvency statistics on a quarterly basis. Therefore, the numbers in this section are only updated once every 3 months.

In Q3 2024, the individual insolvencies were comprised of 1,327 protected trust deeds and 564 bankruptcies (also known as sequestration), of which 299 went into bankruptcy via the minimal asset process route. The rules regarding bankruptcy differ to these in England and Wales, so numbers of bankruptcies are not directly comparable.

Northern Ireland

In October 2024, there were 155 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland. This was 24% higher than in October 2023. There were 99 IVAs, 23 bankruptcies and 33 DROs.