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Q1 2022: Company Insolvency Statistics

28th April, 2022

The company insolvency statistics for the first quarter of 2022 (January to March) have been released, and so we discuss the findings here.

Company Insolvency in England and Wales

Q1 2022 saw 4,896 company insolvencies which is 6% higher than the amount registered in the previous quarter and more than double the amount recorded during the same quarter of 2021. The total number of registered company insolvencies in this quarter, was the highest since Q2 2012.

In terms of procedures:

  • Creditors voluntary liquidations accounted for 87% of cases (up by 3% from 2021 Q4 and 117% from 2021 Q1)
  • Compulsory liquidations accounted for 7% of cases (up by 114% from 2021 Q4 and 183% from 2021 Q1)
  • Administrations accounted for 5% of cases (down 3% from 2021 Q4 and up 42% from 2021 Q1)
  • Company voluntary arrangements accounted for 1% of cases (down 24% compared to 2021 Q4 and down 32% compared to 2021 Q1)
  • There were no receivership appointments.

CVLs saw their highest amount in the time series since it began in 1960. It is likely that the trends are due to the end of the government measures put in place to support small businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It should be reflected on that there were 36 companies obtaining a moratorium and 10 companies having restructuring plans registered at Companies House, between 26 June 2020 and 31 March 2022.

Liquidation Rates per 10,000 active companies

In the four quarters ending Q1 2022, the liquidation rate for companies was 38.9 per 10,000 active companies in England and Wales (1 in 257 companies liquidated in the 12 months ending Q1 2022). This rate is more than the same quarter last year when the rate was 25.5 per 10,000 active companies. When looking at the rate from Q4 2021, it is up by 6.0 per 10,000 active companies.

Company Insolvencies by Industry

From analysing SIC codes of companies and the insolvency statistics, it has been shown that the industries experiencing the highest amount of insolvencies in the 12 months ending Q1 2022 were:

  • Construction – 3,213 insolvencies
  • Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of vehicles – 2,100 insolvencies
  • Accommodation – 1,977 insolvencies

Such results match that of the same period the year before, with these three sectors experiencing the most insolvencies too. For all industries, an increase was seen in insolvency numbers in the 12 months ending Q1 2022 compared to the period ending Q1 2021.

Company Insolvencies in Scotland 

In Scotland, there were 210 company insolvencies recorded for Q1 2022. This was more than double than that recorded in the same period of 2021. Statistics included 33 compulsory liquidations, 165 CVLs, 12 administrations. There were no CVAs or receiverships.

The liquidation rate for the 12 months ending Q1 2022 was 37.7 per 10,000 active companies. This was up by 16.7 compared to the same period the year before.

Company Insolvencies in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland saw 56 company insolvencies in Q1 2022 which was almost four times more than in Q1 2021. The statistics consist of 28 CVLs, 19 compulsory liquidations, 5 administrations, 3 CVAs and 1 receivership.

The liquidation rate for the 12 months ending Q1 2022 was 19.1 per 10,000 active companies in Northern Ireland. This was an increase of 8.4 from in the same period the year before.

The full report and findings can be seen here.

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