Monthly insolvency statistics – July 2024

Corporate Insolvencies

England and Wales

Total corporate insolvencies for 2024 were 14,604, slightly ahead of the same period in 2023 which totalled 14,247.

Insolvencies are higher than experienced during the pandemic but also higher than the average 5-year period prior to the pandemic.

The Insolvency Services’ UK insolvency statistics record receiverships for Administrative Receivership processes which are now very rare.  They do not record other forms of receivership which are more common, such as fixed charge receiverships, where secured creditors as charge holders exercise their rights over property. 

Total corporate insolvencies rose by 16% when compared to July 2023. In July 2024 company insolvencies totalled 2,1911, being 7% lower than in June 2024.

Creditors Voluntary Liquidations (“CVLs”) totalled 1,691, decreasing by 9% compared to June 2024 but were 15% higher than July 2023.

Compulsory Liquidations (“WUCs”) totalled 320, 27% higher than July 2023 and 5% higher than June 2024.

There were 155 Administration appointments which is 6% higher than in July 2023 but 10% lower than June 2024. 

There were only 25 Company Voluntary Arrangements (“CVA”s) being 32% higher than July 2023 and 9% higher than in June 2024

Scotland

In July 2024 there were 117 company insolvencies registered in Scotland, 21% higher than July 2023. There were 33 compulsory liquidations, 76 CVLs and 8 administrations in the month. There were no receivership or CVA appointments.

Northern Ireland

In July 2024 there were 20 company insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, 54% higher than July 2023. This is comprised of 5 compulsory liquidations, 10 CVLs, 4 Administrations and one CVA.  There were no receivership appointments.

Personal Insolvencies

England and Wales

There were 10,524 individual insolvencies in July, an increase of 24% on July 2023 (8,479) and very similar to the numbers seen last month.

The last four months have recorded the four highest volumes of Debt Relief Orders (DRO’s) since their introduction in 2009, with 4,136. 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 (£50,000 liabilities), 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. There have been some issues with the second-hand car market being so buoyant, meaning that modest car values are sometimes struggling to come in below £4,000, but that does not seem to have dampened the number of applications.

With DRO’s now increasingly being the debt solution of choice for many, bankruptcy numbers have deceased, with the total number of bankruptcies in July (634), being slightly lower than the last 12-month average (673), and still significantly lower than pre-covid levels.

In July, there were 141 creditor petitions, with HMRC leading the push on filing petitions, showing a slight decrease on the previous 12-month average of 152.

Debtor’s bankruptcy applications reached 493 in July, compared to 509 in the same month last year. Debtor’s applications have remained steady in 2024, with the monthly average of 517 to date this year. However, many of those with liabilities between £30,000 and £50,000 will now turn increasingly to DRO’s and debtor’s applications will decrease over time as a result.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) numbers over the past year have been significantly lower than during 2022, which saw a record annual number. However, 5,727 IVA’s were recorded in July, which is a 12% increase on the same month last year (5,123).

IVA’s which were previously sold inappropriately, will now likely be replaced by DRO’s, which will see IVA numbers drop even further, as DRO’s continue to rise, and bankruptcy numbers remain constant.

Breathing Space (BS) registrations in July 2024 reached 7,369, compared to 7,794 in July 2023. Registrations consisted of 125 Mental Health BS applications, and 7,244 Standard BS registrations.

BS applications appear to have levelled out, however, this procedure is merely a pause in the process and the individuals concerned will still have to deal with their indebtedness, although what course of action they take will remain to be seen.

The numbers suggest that those exiting a Breathing Space (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 Breathing Space scheme, which may see the removal of 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 Q2 2024, the individual insolvencies were comprised of 1,348 protected trust deeds and 708 bankruptcies (also known as sequestration), of which 389 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 July 2024, there were 152 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland. This was 41% higher than in July 2023. There were 104 IVAs, 25 bankruptcies and 23 DROs.