Monthly insolvency statistics – March 2024

Corporate Insolvencies

England and Wales

Total corporate insolvencies continue to rise when compared to corresponding months both post and pre pandemic.  In March 2024 company insolvencies totalled 1,815.  This was 17% lower than March 2023 (2,193).  March therefore saw a reduction in each procedure when compared with March 23.  When considering the first quarter of 2024 the number of corporate insolvencies is similar.

While the statistics are therefore relatively similar in respect of the first three months of the year, anecdotally, the number of enquiries requesting assistance has increased which could be seen as indicative of a continued challenging economic environment.

Creditors Voluntary Liquidations (“CVLs”) totalled 1,437, 19% lower than March 2023.

Compulsory Liquidations (“WUCs”) totalled 261, 9% lower than March 2023.

There were 108 Administration appointments which is 14% lower than in March 2023. 

There were only 9 Company Voluntary Arrangements (“CVA”s) 31% lower than March 2023. 

 

Scotland

In March 2024, there were 115 company insolvencies registered in Scotland, 11% higher than March 2023. There were 44 compulsory liquidations, 62 CVLs and 9 administrations in the month. There were no receivership or CVA appointments.

Northern Ireland

In March 2024, there were 26 company insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, twice as many as March 2023. This is comprised of 14 compulsory liquidations, 9 CVLs and 3 Administrations.  There were no CVAs or receivership.

Personal Insolvencies

England and Wales

Total individual insolvencies in March were 8,708, which was notably less than February’s figure (10,140) and also down on March 2023 numbers (9,598).

There were 2,628 Debt Relief Orders (DRO’s), a slight decrease from March 2023 (2,898). Following the changes in criteria from May 2021, allowing easier entry into a DRO, take-up has increased, with 2023 averaging 2,643 DRO’s per month, with record high numbers in the second half of 2023.

This increase may have also been aided by those exiting a Breathing Space (BS) application and being sign-posted to a DRO as their chosen exit route once the BS period had expired.

This slight upward trend in bankruptcies has continued, with HMRC leading the push on filing petitions. Creditors’ petitions have increased with a monthly average of 141 in 2023, compared to 95 in 2022. This is mirrored in debtor’s bankruptcy applications, which reached 541 in March 2024 compared to 478 in the same month last year.

Breathing Space (BS) registrations in March reached 7,710, compared to 8,282 in March 2023. Registrations consisted of 100 Mental Health BS applications, and 7,610 Standard BS registrations, compared to the 2023 monthly average of 7,244.

An increase in BS applications looks to be continuing in 2024, 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.

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, providing a way out of debt, which will provide equally good outcomes for creditors where possible.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) numbers are similar to those seen over the last 12 months, with 5,801 recorded in March. Numbers are down from February’s total as this month included IVA’s that were approved more than two months earlier but were not registered until February 2024. 

 

 

Bankruptcy numbers have deceased slowly since the DRO criteria was changed. However, in March there were 681 bankruptcy orders, compared to 590 in March 2023, a modest increase, though still significantly lower than pre-covid levels.

Northern Ireland

In March 2024 there were 123 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland, 21% lower than in March 2023. This consisted of 91 IVAs, 23 bankruptcies and 9 DROs.

 

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