Think You Were Busy In 2023? Now You Know Why

Corporate Insolvency
In 2023, there were 25,158 registered company insolvencies, which comprised:

·         20,577 CVLs
·         2,827 Compulsory Liquidations
·         1,567 Administrations
·         185 CVAs
·         And a whopping 2 Administrative Receiverships

This was the highest number of company insolvencies since 1993.

CVLs increased 9% from 2022, to a new record high, going back to 1960.

Other numbers were up compared to 2022: Compulsories (up 44%), Administrations (a 27% increase) and CVAs (up 67%).

Corporate insolvency levels were at a 30-year high in 2023, but then the number of companies on the Companies House register has also increased over time. The 2023 rate of 53.7 per 10,000 active companies is still lower than the 2008/9 peak of 94.8 insolvencies per 10,000 active companies.

To finish off the year, the Insolvency Service have also released their quarterly statistics.

Between 1 October and 31 December 2023, there were 6,788 registered company insolvencies, which was made up of 5,578 CVLs, 780 Compulsory Liqudiations, 379 Administrations, 50 CVAs and one solitary, lonely, Admin Receivership.

After some jiggery pokery (“seasonal adjustment”), the number of company insolvencies in Q4 2023 was 9% higher than Q3 2023, and 14% higher than Q4 2022. Q4 2023 apparently saw the highest quarterly total since Q4 2008, when everyone was busy queueing round the block to get their money from their local branch of Northern Rock.

This was also the highest quarterly number of CVLs since 1960.

Administrations fell in Q4 2023, but were still higher than in 2021 and 2022.

Personal Insolvency
In 2023, there were 103,454 individual insolvencies, which was 13% lower than 2022’s bumper crop of 118,766. 2023 actually saw the lowest annual number since 2017.

This was also the lowest year for IVAs since 2017, whilst DROs saw their highest level since they were introduced in 2009.

Bankruptcies increased slightly from the 40-year low they experienced in 2022, but remained less than half of pre-2020 levels.

IVAs made up 62% of individual insolvencies, down from 74% in 2022. As we have said before, this is likely due to the increase in the DRO criteria thresholds since mid-2021 taking some people that would otherwise have either gone Bankrupt or chosen an IVA.

One in 461 adults (21.7 per 10,000) entered insolvency in 2023. This was lower than the 25 per 10,000 from 2022.

There were 88,390 registered Breathing Space Moratoria in 2023, of which 86,928 were ‘standard’ Breathing Spaces, and the other 1,462 Mental Health Crisis Moratoria. These were 25% higher than 2022, which shows their increasing popularity and public awareness of them. There has now been more than 200,000 Breathing Spaces registered since their introduction on 4 May 2021.

In terms of the quarterly figures, Q4 2023’s personal insolvency figures were 3% higher than Q3 2023. DROs saw the highest quarterly figure since 2009. IVAs remained similar to Q3 2023, and Bankruptcies were slightly lower.

The total number of individual insolvencies was 15% lower than Q4 2022.

Breathing Spaces stood at 20,890 for Q4. This was 15% higher than Q4 2022. 20,517 of these were ‘standard’ Breathing Spaces, and 373 Mental Health Crisis Moratoria.