Last year saw a surge in corporate insolvencies across England and Wales, with the Insolvency Service documenting a total of 25,158 cases, marking the most recorded since 1993.
The breakdown of these figures reveals 20,577 instances of voluntary liquidations – a 9% increase from the previous year and the highest figure since 1960 – along with 2,827 forced liquidations (a 44% rise), 1,567 administrations (a 27% rise), and 185 instances of company voluntary arrangements (a 67% rise). Compulsory liquidations rose to hit a number not seen since prior to COVID-19.
The rate of insolvencies in 2023 reached 53.7 for every 10,000 operational companies, up from 49.6 per 10000 in 2022. That made 2023 the worst year since 2014, albeit substantially below the peak rate of 94.8, during the financial crisis of 2008/09.
The rise in insolvency rates wasn’t just limited to certain sectors; nearly all reported an increase last year.
Tom Grummit, Insolvency Practitioner and Partner at Bridgewood remarked, “We have seen a significant increase in the number of companies contacting us for help during 2023, which is reflective of the economic situation across the country.
We are now four years on from the onset of the pandemic, so the number of clients we speak to who cite the pandemic as the cause of their issues has significantly reduced.
It has also been apparent that the increase in companies seeking help has not been confined to specific industries and it does not therefore appear to be linked only to issues in specific sectors.”
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