Company Insolvency Statistics: October to December 2022
Statistics on new company insolvencies in England and Wales, and related statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland
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Main messages for England and Wales
Annual summary for 2022
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One in 202 active companies (at a rate of 49.5 per 10,000 active companies) entered insolvent liquidation in 2022. This was an increase from the 32.9 per 10,000 active companies that entered liquidation in 2021, and was higher than the 41.9 per 10,000 in 2019 (before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic).
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The liquidation rate in 2022 was the highest liquidation rate since Q3 2015, but was lower than the recessionary peak of 94.7 per 10,000 in 2009.
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The total number of company insolvencies registered in 2022 was 22,109, as shown in Figure 1, which was the highest number since 2009 and 57% higher than 2021.
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The increase compared to 2021 was driven by the highest annual number of Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations (CVLs) since the start of the series in 1960. The number of CVLs in 2022 was approximately 21% higher than if the pre-pandemic trend had continued.
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The annual number of compulsory liquidations was higher than the record low number in 2021 but remained below pre-pandemic levels.
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Administrations were higher than 2021 but lower than pre-pandemic levels. CVAs were similar to 2021 but lower than pre-pandemic levels.
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Increases in insolvencies were seen across most industries in 2022 compared to 2021.
Quarterly summary for Q4 2022
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Between 1 October and 31 December 2022 (Q4 2022), there were 5,995 (seasonally adjusted) registered company insolvencies, comprising 4,891 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 720 compulsory liquidations, 359 administrations and 25 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs). There were no receivership appointments.
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After seasonal adjustment, the number of company insolvencies in Q4 2022 was 7% higher than in Q3 2022 and 30% higher than in Q4 2021. The number of CVLs remained close to the highest quarterly level since the start of the series in 1960 (Q2 2022). The number of compulsory liquidations also increased to the highest quarterly number since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, partly as a result of an increase in winding-up petitions presented by HMRC and due to a high number of petitions from a single bank.