Monthly insolvency statistics – September 2024

Corporate Insolvencies

England and Wales

Total corporate insolvencies in September 2024 were slightly lower than in September 2023 with 1,973 company insolvencies in total. This was 7% lower than September 2023 but 2% higher than August 2024.

 Creditors Voluntary Liquidations (“CVLs”) totalled 1,575, 9% lower than September 2023 but 2% higher than August 2024.

Compulsory Liquidations (“WUCs”) totalled 226, 13% lower than September 2023 and 18% lower than August 2024.

 There were 155 Administration appointments which is 19% higher than September 2023 and 40% higher than August 2024.

There were 17 CVAs in September 2024, 55% higher than September 2023 but 15% lower than August 2024.

Scotland

In September 2024 there were 73 company insolvencies registered in Scotland, 16% lower than September 2023. There were 18 compulsory liquidations, 48 CVLs and 7 administrations. There were no CVAs or receiverships appointments.

Northern Ireland

In September 2024 there were 28 company insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, 24% lower than September 2023. There were 15 compulsory liquidations, 10 CVLs, 2 administrations and one CVA. There were no receivership appointments.

Personal Insolvencies

England and Wales

There were 10,651 individual insolvencies in September, an increase of 44% on September 2023 (7,372) and a 6% increase from the numbers seen last month (10,046).

The last six months have recorded the six highest monthly Debt Relief Order (DRO) totals since their introduction, with 4,032 applications in September. 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.

With DRO’s now increasingly being the debt solution of choice for many, bankruptcy numbers have decreased, with the total number of bankruptcies in September (567), being notably lower than the last 12-month average (669), and still significantly lower than pre-Covid levels.

In September there were 138 creditor petitions, with HMRC leading the push, showing a slight decrease on the previous 12-month average of 154. Court delays continue to dampen the creditor petition numbers.

Debtor’s bankruptcy applications are being replaced by DRO’s with liabilities between £30,000 and £50,000, and debtor’s bankruptcy applications dropped to 418 in September, compared to 534 in the same month last year.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) numbers over the past year have been significantly lower than during 2022, which saw a record annual number. However, September saw a slight peak in IVA’s with 6,052 recorded, which was 16% higher than the monthly average over the last 12 months.

Breathing Space (BS) registrations for September are not yet available due to an issue with the administrative system from which the data is obtained. However, the numbers in August indicated that BS applications appear to have levelled out. 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 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 September 2024, there were 155 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland. This was 20% higher than in September 2023. There were 112 IVAs, 24 bankruptcies and 19 DROs.