Accredited official statistics
Company Insolvency Statistics: October to December 2021
Statistics on new company insolvencies in England and Wales, and related statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland
Documents
PDF, 425 KB, 1 page
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email
publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
MS Excel Spreadsheet, 177 KB
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email
publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
ODS, 130 KB
This file is in an OpenDocument format
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email
publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
CSV, 4.82 KB
View online
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email
publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
CSV, 30.6 KB
View online
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email
publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
MS Excel Spreadsheet, 2.52 MB
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email
publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
ODS, 1.47 MB
This file is in an OpenDocument format
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email
publications@insolvency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
Details
Annual 2021
-
One in 304 active companies (at a rate of 32.9 per 10,000 active companies) entered liquidation in 2021. This was an increase from the 29.4 per 10,000 active companies that entered liquidation in 2020, but remained lower than the 41.9 per 10,000 in 2019.
-
The total number of company insolvencies registered in 2021 was
14,048, which was higher than the 12,634 in 2020, but remained below
pre-pandemic levels.
-
The increase compared to 2020 was driven by the highest annual
number of Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations (CVLs) since 2009.
However, the number of CVLs in 2021 was only slightly higher than in
2019 and was consistent with the increasing trend in CVL numbers
before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
-
All other types of company insolvencies were lower than both 2020
and pre-pandemic levels. The annual number of compulsory
liquidations was the lowest since the start of the series in 1960.
-
Increases in insolvencies were seen across most industries in 2021
compared to 2020. Several sectors showed increases above the overall
annual increase of 11%, including Professional, scientific and
technical activities (up 35%) and Construction (up 25%).
Quarterly Q4 2021
-
Between 1 October and 31 December (Q4) 2021, there were 4,627
(seasonally adjusted) registered company insolvencies, as shown in
Figure 1, comprised of 4,175 creditors’ voluntary liquidations, 147
compulsory liquidations, 272 administrations, and 33 company
voluntary arrangements (CVAs). There were no receivership
appointments.
-
In Q4 2021, after seasonal adjustment, the number of company
insolvencies was 18% higher than in Q3 2021 and 51% higher than in
Q4 2020. This was driven by an increase in CVLs to the highest
quarterly level since the series began in 1960. The increase in CVLs
in the second half of 2021 coincided with the phasing out of
measures put in place to support businesses during the coronavirus
pandemic.
-
Numbers for other company insolvency procedures registered in Q4
2021 were higher than the previous quarter (Q3 2021) but remained
low compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Updates to this page
Published 28 January 2022
