October 2024 saw 1,747 corporate insolvencies which was 10% lower than las month (1,950) but a fairly large 24% lower than October 2023 (2,293). However, these numbers are still higher than those seen both before and during the pandemic.
Company insolvencies in October 2024 consisted of 1,445 CVLs (as ever over 80% of the total – 82.7% to be more accurate), 188 Compulsory Liquidations, a round 100 Administrations and 12 CVAs. All types of company insolvency were lower than in September 2024.
There were four restructuring plans (over 11% of the whole total since their inception) but no moratoriums registered at Companies House in October 2024.
However, we expect you were all busy dealing with MVLs in the run-up to the budget. MVLs are not included in the insolvency statistics published by the Insolvency Service, but we have done some digging at the London Gazette. A quick search of notices relating to winding-up resolutions passed in solvent liquidations for the week 14-18 October 2024, suggests an average of over 350 MVLs a day. The figures for the comparative week in 2023 suggest an average of approximately 75 a day.
Into the personal insolvency market, 8,592 individuals entered insolvency in England and Wales in October 2024. This was 14% lower than in September 2024 but similar to October last year. This figure consisted of 596 Bankruptcies, 3,793 DROs and 4,563 IVAs.
As the newsroom has reported over the past few months, DROs are at their highest monthly levels since their introduction, following the removal of the £90 administration fee to obtain a DRO from 6 April 2024. However, the figure has fallen again following a surge post the withdrawal of the fee and the slightly later limit changes.
There were 7,099 breathing spaces registered under the Debt Respite Scheme in October 2024. This is 7% lower than in October 2023. Of the 7,099 breathing space registrations, 7,002 were Standard breathing space registrations and 97 were Mental Health breathing space registrations.
Of the 596 Bankruptcies in October 2024, 436 resulted from debtors’ applications, which was 5% higher than in September 2024, but 16% lower than in October 2023, and 160 resulted from creditors’ petitions, which was 1% higher than in both September 2024 and October 2023. In October 2024, 73% of Bankruptcies resulted from debtors’ applications. This has been stable over the past few months and is lower than the 80% average in the three years before Covid.
The numbers of debtor application Bankruptcies over the past three months have been amongst the lowest monthly numbers on record (presumably because of the DRO changes). The 436 in October 2024 was 59% lower than the pre-Covid (2014-2019) average of 1,063 and was 18% lower than the 2021-2023 average.
