Monthly insolvency statistics – May 2024

Corporate Insolvencies

England and Wales

The reduction in appointments when compared to last year was seen across all types of corporate insolvency. May 2023 recorded the highest number of all appointments in any given month since October 2008 and as such the figures may be skewed due to last years sudden spike. May 2024 statistics show that appointments for May 2024 are slightly higher than the monthly average for 2024.

Creditors Voluntary Liquidations (“CVLs”) totalled 1,590, 26% lower than May 2023.

Compulsory Liquidations (“WUCs”) totalled 271, 27% higher than May 2023.

 There were 126 Administration appointments which was 20% lower than May 2023. 

There were 19 CVAs in May 2024, 37% lower than May 2023. 

Scotland

In May 2024 there were 118 company insolvencies registered in Scotland, 22% higher than May 2023. There were 43 compulsory liquidations, 71 CVLs and 4 administrations. There were no Receivership or CVA appointments.

 Northern Ireland

In May 2023 there were 44 company insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, 300% higher than May 2023. This is comprised of 20 CVLs, 22 compulsory liquidations and 2 CVAs.  There were no receiverships or administrations.

Personal Insolvencies

England and Wales

Total individual insolvencies in May were 9,266, which was higher than the previous 12-month average of c.8,700.

This upward trend was driven by the significant increase in Debt Relief Orders (DRO’s) for the second consecutive month with 3,716 in May, stemming from the elimination of the £90 administration fee in order to obtain a DRO. This is a steep rise from March 2024 (2,708), and May 2023 (2,250).

With DRO’s now increasingly being the debt solution of choice for many, bankruptcy numbers have deceased slowly since the DRO criteria was changed in May 2021, with the total number of bankruptcies in May (604), being slightly lower than the last 12-month average, and still significantly lower than pre-covid levels.

In May, there were 110 creditor petitions, with HMRC leading the push on filing petitions. However, this monthly figure is notably down on the monthly average of 141 in 2023.

Debtor’s bankruptcy applications reached 494 in March 2024 compared to 475 in the same month last year, showing a steady increase over the last 12 months, consistent with the monthly average of 500 in 2023. 

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) numbers over the past year have been significantly lower than during 2022, which saw a record annual number. 4,946 IVA’s were recorded in May, which was down on May 2023 numbers (5,996).

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 May 2024 reached 7,652, compared to 6,683 in May 2023. Registrations consisted of 105 Mental Health BS applications, and 7,547 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.

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

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 Q1 2024, there were 1,884 individual insolvencies in Scotland, which was slightly lower than in Q1 2023. These were comprised of 1,281 trust deeds and 603 sequestrations, of which 343 were via the minimal asset process (MAP) route.

The table of sequestrations shown below contains all sequestrations with the numbers of MAPS separated out in the second table.

Northern Ireland

In May 2024, there were 143 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland. This was 26% lower than in May 2023. There were 114 IVAs, 17 bankruptcies and 12 DROs.