Official Statistics

Commentary - Individual Voluntary Arrangements Outcomes and Providers 2024

Published 28 February 2025

Applies to England and Wales

Released

28 February 2025

Next release

February/March 2026

Media enquiries

press.office@insolvency.gov.uk

+44 (0)30 3003 1743

Statistical enquiries

Anna Kuslits (author)

statistics@insolvency.gov.uk

David Webster (responsible statistician)

1. Main Messages

• In 2024, 67,099 IVAs were registered in England and Wales, remaining at a similar level to the 64,019 registered in 2023. This follows a decline from the record high number of 87,849 in 2022, marking two consecutive years of lower numbers after the increasing trend seen between 2015 and 2022, as shown in Figure 1. Five firms accounted for more than half of new IVAs registered in 2024.

• In England and Wales, one in 17 IVAs (5.7%) registered with the Insolvency Service in 2023 terminated within one year of being approved. This was similar to the one-year termination rate for IVAs registered in 2021 and 2022, but higher than the record-low one-year termination rate in 2020, which coincided with temporary support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The two-year termination rate for IVAs registered in 2022 was 14.5%, which was similar to the rate for IVAs registered in the previous year. However, the three-year termination rate for IVAs registered in 2021 was 20.5%, reflecting an increase compared to those registered in 2020.

• Termination rates over the lifetime of an IVA were approximately one in three (33%) for IVAs registered between 2016 and 2018. IVAs registered in 2019 and 2020 show signs of lower lifetime termination rates. For these IVAs, the first three years, which is when the majority of terminations occur, coincided with the implementation of support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A definitive trend for 2021 and later is difficult to establish, as more than three-quarters of IVAs registered in these years were still ongoing at the end of 2024. However, for 2021, the three-year termination rate was higher than for 2019 and 2020, but lower than for 2016 to 2018.

Figure 1: Annual IVA numbers were lower in 2023 and 2024 than the record high numbers between 2018 and 2022.

England and Wales, 2000 to 2024

Source: Insolvency Service

Information going back to 1990 can be found in Table 1 of the accompanying tables.

In 2023, changes to the wider regulatory landscape were introduced. These included a ban by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) on debt-packagers receiving remuneration for referrals to IVA firms. Additionally, recognised professional bodies adopted a new Statement of Insolvency Practice regarding take-on procedures.

2. Things you need to know about this release

This statistical release shows the outcome status of individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) registered between 1990 and 2024 in England and Wales and a breakdown of the number of IVAs registered by provider from 2014 to 2024. IVAs in Northern Ireland and Protected Trust Deeds in Scotland are not included in this release. The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes individual insolvency statistics for Scotland. The Insolvency Service also publishes monthly Individual Insolvency Statistics for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. These releases include all types of individual insolvency.

An IVA is a legally binding agreement for a debtor to repay creditors some or all of what they are owed over a period of time (usually five or six years). IVAs in this publication are classified as ‘ongoing’, ‘completed’ or ‘terminated’. Completed means that the IVA has ended, with the debtor having fulfilled their obligations under the agreement. In this case, the debtor is no longer required to repay any amounts for the debts covered by the agreement. Terminated means that the agreement has ended because the debtor has failed to keep to the terms of the arrangement. In this case, the debtor remains liable for the outstanding debts. Further information can be found in the Glossary.

These statistics are derived from administrative records held by the Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade. All IVAs are required to be registered with the Insolvency Service. IVAs in this report are broken down by the year in which they were registered. Most IVAs are registered within 14 days of the date the IVA is approved by creditors.

The completion and termination numbers in these statistics reflect notifications received by the Insolvency Service by 7 February 2025. In some cases, the Insolvency Service may not have been notified about the completion or termination of IVAs from 2024 and earlier by this date. Therefore, the termination and completion rates presented in these statistics may be a slight underestimate.

IVA termination rates are calculated by dividing the number of IVAs registered in a given year that terminated by 31 December 2024, by the total number of IVAs registered in that year. As a higher proportion of recent registrations remain ongoing, termination rates for more recent years will increase in the future.

3. Individual voluntary arrangements as a proportion of total individual insolvencies

As shown in Figure 2, the number of new IVAs registered each year increased from approximately 50,000 between 2013 and 2016 to more than 75,000 in each year between 2019 and 2022. However, numbers in 2023 and 2024 were lower. The 67,099 IVAs registered in 2024 was slightly higher than the six-year low in 2023.

IVAs accounted for 57% of all individual insolvencies in 2024, down from 62% in 2023 and over 70% between 2020 and 2022. Despite this decline, the proportion of IVAs remains slightly higher than it was a decade ago (in 2014) when IVAs represented 52% of all individual insolvencies. The decrease in the proportion of IVAs relative to all individual insolvencies in the past two years was driven by both a decline in the number of IVAs and a growing volume of debt relief orders (DROs) during this period. For more information on individual insolvencies, see the monthly Individual Insolvency Statistics Releases.

The decline in IVA numbers in 2023 coincided with changes to the wider regulatory landscape. These included a ban by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) on debt-packagers receiving remuneration for referrals to IVA firms. Additionally, recognised professional bodies adopted a new Statement of Insolvency Practice regarding take-on procedures.

Figure 2: The rise in individual insolvency numbers in 2024 was driven by debt relief orders, while IVAs and bankruptcies remained relatively stable.

England and Wales, 2014 to 2024

Source: Insolvency Service

More information about individual insolvencies, including longer-term trends, can be found in the Individual Insolvency Statistics Releases.

4. Termination of individual voluntary arrangements

IVAs are terminated when the debtor fails to keep to the terms of the arrangement. Figure 3 shows the percentage of IVAs that terminated, calculated by dividing the number of IVAs from a given year that terminated by 31 December 2024 by the total number of IVAs registered in that year.

The termination rate peaked at 42% for IVAs registered in 2007, before declining to 24% for IVAs registered in 2012. The introduction of the IVA Protocol in 2008 is likely to have reduced IVA termination rates by introducing more flexibility to account for debtors’ individual circumstances.

IVA termination rates were higher for IVAs registered between 2015 and 2018 than the historically low levels in the preceding years. The rate of 34% for IVAs registered in 2016 was the highest since 2008. The termination rate for IVAs registered in 2017 has already reached 34%, with over 10% of cases still ongoing. To date, 31% of IVAs registered in 2018 and 25% of IVAs registered in 2019 have terminated. As 26% of IVAs in 2018 and 50% of IVAs in 2019 remained ongoing as at 31 December 2024, termination rates for these years are likely to increase slightly.

While most IVAs that have lasted five or more years are successfully completed, some are likely to be terminated. Historically, lifetime termination rates have typically been approximately 1-3 percentage points higher than the rate after five years. For example, for IVAs registered in 2014, 23.2% terminated within five years, with an additional 2.9% terminating after five further years, for a total termination rate of 26.1%.

IVAs registered in 2019 and 2020 show signs of lower lifetime termination rates. For these IVAs, the first three years, which is when the majority of terminations occur, coincided with the implementation of support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In contrast, early data indicates higher termination rates for IVAs registered in 2021 and 2022 than for those registered in 2019 and 2020, although over three-quarters of these cases were still ongoing at the end of 2024, making it difficult to establish a definitive trend. As at 31 December 2024, 23% of IVAs registered in 2021 and 18% registered in 2022 had terminated. The equivalent number as at 31 December 2022 was 20% for IVAs registered in 2019 and 14% for those registered in 2020.

Figure 3: IVA termination rates were higher for IVAs registered between 2015 and 2018 than in the preceding years.

England and Wales, 2000 to 2024

Source: Insolvency Service

Bars to the right of the dashed line are faded, because more than 10% of IVAs in these years are still ongoing and the termination rates for these years are likely to increase. The proportion of ongoing IVAs in these years is shown in Table 1 below. An indication of trends for more recent years can be found in the one-, two- and three-year IVA termination rates below.

Table 1: Because IVAs typically last at least 5 years, the majority of IVAs registered between 2020 and 2024 remain ongoing.

England and Wales, 2014 to 2024

Year	Total	Completed (no.)	Completed (%)	Terminated (no.)	Terminated (%)	Ongoing (no.)	Ongoing (%)
2014	51,117	37,350	73%	13,366	26%	401	1%
2015	40,005	27,511	69%	11,679	29%	815	2%
2016	49,257	29,920	61%	16,910	34%	2,427	5%
2017	59,109	31,831	54%	20,316	34%	6,962	12%
2018	70,672	30,249	43%	22,256	31%	18,167	26%
2019	77,934	19,735	25%	19,556	25%	38,643	50%
2020	78,438	6,230	8%	16,900	22%	55,308	71%
2021	81,185	3,796	5%	18,366	23%	59,023	73%
2022	87,849	2,201	3%	15,858	18%	69,790	79%
2023	64,019	1,105	2%	6,405	10%	56,509	88%
2024	67,099	410	1%	1,564	2%	65,125	97%

5. Percentage of IVAs terminating within one to four years of registration

Figure 4 shows the proportion of IVAs that terminated within one, two, three and four years of approval. Only complete years as at 31 December 2024 are shown. For example, for IVAs registered in 2022, only two full years have passed, so three- and four-year termination rates cannot be shown for that year.

The most common annual period for an IVA to terminate is between one and two years after approval. However, for IVAs registered in 2019 and 2020, over half of all terminations occurred more than two years after they were approved. This does not appear to be the case for IVAs registered between 2016 and 2018, for which earlier terminations were more common.

One in 17 IVAs (5.7%) registered with the Insolvency Service in 2023 terminated within one year of being approved. This was similar to the one-year termination rates for IVAs registered in 2022 and 2021, but higher than the record-low one-year termination rate in 2020 (4.0%), which coincided with temporary support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-year termination rate of 14.5% for IVAs registered in 2022 was higher than the rates in 2019 (12.2%) and 2020 (10.5%) but remained lower than levels seen for IVAs registered between 2016 and 2018.

The three-year termination rate for IVAs registered in 2021 was 20.5%, which was higher than the 10-year record low of 16% for IVAs registered in 2020. The lower termination rates seen in IVAs registered in 2020, however, are consistent with the decline in IVA terminations during the COVID-19 pandemic discussed below.

Reductions in termination rates for IVAs registered in 2019 and 2020 coincided with the temporary guidance for the IVA protocol effective between 20 April 2020 and 31 December 2021 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The initial version of the guidance allowed individuals with existing IVAs to reduce payments by up to 25% and take a payment holiday of up to three months. Revised guidance in September 2020 increased this to up to a 50% reduction in payments and up to a six-month payment holiday. With the introduction of a revised IVA protocol effective from 1 August 2021, the provisions in the temporary COVID-19 guidance were phased out for new IVAs and came to an end for all IVAs on 31 December 2021.

Figure 4: The one-year termination rates for IVAs registered in 2023 remained similar to preceding years, while the two-year termination rates for IVAs registered in 2021 and 2022 were higher than for 2020.

England and Wales, 2014 to 2024

Source: Insolvency Service

More detailed information, including cumulative termination rates within three months to two years after approval, can be found in Table 2 of the accompanying tables.

6. New individual voluntary arrangement registrations by firm

Table 2 shows a list of largest IVA firms by the volumes of IVAs registered in 2024. Five firms (The Insolvency Group, Advice Centre Group, Creditfix, Bennett Jones and PayPlan Partnership) were responsible for more than half the IVAs registered in 2024. The largest provider, The Insolvency Group, was responsible for 14% of IVAs registered in 2024. This is the first year since 2013 that Creditfix has not been the firm that registered the largest number of IVAs.

The top 18 firms accounted for more than 90% of registered IVAs in 2024. This is more than in 2023, when 16 firms accounted for more than 90% of IVAs.

Note that numbers of IVAs by firm presented below reflect the Insolvency Service administrative system as at the date of data extraction in February 2025. The numbers may not reflect all changes resulting from the transfer of IVAs between providers.

Table 2: Five firms accounted for more than 50% of registered IVAs in 2024

Insolvency practitioner firm	New registrations	Percentage
The Insolvency Group	9,475	14.1%
Advice Centre Group	8,801	13.1%
Creditfix	7,672	11.4%
Bennett Jones Insolvency	4,124	6.1%
PayPlan Partnership	3,841	5.7%
MoneyPlus Insolvency	3,677	5.5%
Anchorage Chambers	3,454	5.1%
AFA Insolvency	3,436	5.1%
My Debt Plan	2,978	4.4%
J3 Debt Solutions	2,806	4.2%
McCambridge Duffy	1,688	2.5%
United Insolvency	1,631	2.4%
IVA Help	1,494	2.2%
PayPlan Bespoke Solutions	1,433	2.1%
Freeman Jones	1,330	2.0%
Lawson Fox	1,124	1.7%
Parker Philips Insolvency	1,036	1.5%
Insolvency Guidance Group	875	1.3%
Other	6,224	9.3%
Total	67,099	100.0%

Breakdowns for 2014 to 2024 are available in Table 3 of the accompanying data tables.

Some cleaning of the data has been carried out to merge multiple names associated with the same provider. For example, IVAs assigned to ‘Lawson Fox Business Recovery’ and ‘Lawson Fox Debt Solutions’ are both included under ‘Lawson Fox’.

7. Data and Methodology

7.1 Data Sources

Data used for this report are based on information entered by insolvency practitioners and then uploaded to the Insolvency Service systems. More information on the administrative systems used to compile insolvency statistics can be found in the Statement of Administrative Sources.

7.2 Coverage

Statistics are presented for England and Wales only due to differences in legislation and policy. IVAs in Northern Ireland and Protected Trust Deeds in Scotland are not included in this release. The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes individual insolvency statistics for Scotland. The Insolvency Service also publishes monthly Individual Insolvency Statistics for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. These releases include all types of individual insolvency.

7.3 Methodology and data quality

More detailed methodology and quality information has been published alongside this commentary in the accompanying Methodology and Quality document.

The main quality and coverage issues to note are:

• IVAs in England and Wales are counted within the Insolvency Service official statistics releases once they are registered with the Insolvency Service. However, there is often a time lag between the date on which the IVA is accepted and date of registration by licensed insolvency practitioners. If this time lag varied substantially between years, it is possible that the number of IVAs registered in a year would not accurately reflect the number of IVAs actually started within that year. However, current monitoring suggests that the time lag is fairly stable, with most IVAs registered within 14 days of the approval date.

• The same dataset is used for this publication as for the monthly Individual Insolvency Statistics. There are slight differences in the methodology relating to removing duplicates, however the total number of IVAs registered in each year in this report should closely align with this publication.

• Data used for this report are based on information entered by insolvency practitioners and then uploaded to the Insolvency Service systems. While some validation checks are undertaken when the information is uploaded, not all errors can be detected. For example, 125 terminated IVAs (0.06% of the total number since 2014) are shown as having a negative duration, and a further 146 (0.07%) show a duration of zero days. These are included in the ‘unknown’ category in Table 2. It is unlikely that data entry errors are large enough to substantially change the conclusions of this report.

• The completion and termination numbers in these statistics reflect notifications received by the Insolvency Service by 7 February 2025. In some cases, the Insolvency Service may not have been notified about the completion or termination of IVAs from 2024 and earlier by this date. Therefore, the termination and completion rates presented in these statistics may be a slight underestimate.

• The duration of an IVA is measured as the length of time from the date of approval of creditors to the date it terminated. For consistency with the other tables and the monthly Insolvency Statistics, the registration date is still used to assign an IVA to a particular year.

• Revoked and suspended IVAs are included in the terminated category. However, the number of revoked and suspended IVAs is small (less than 0.01% of the total).

• The numbers of IVAs by firm reflect the firm in the Insolvency Service administrative system as at the date of data extraction.

7.4 Revisions

These statistics are subject to scheduled revisions, as set out in the published Revisions Policy. Revisions typically tend to be made as a result of data being entered or changed on administrative systems after the previous publication cut-off date for data being extracted to produce the statistics. Revisions can also be caused by changes in methodology as described above. Such revisions tend to be small in the context of overall totals; nonetheless any figures in this release that have been revised since the previous edition have been highlighted in the ‘Notes’ column of the relevant tables.

8. Glossary

8.1 Key Terms used within this statistical bulletin

Term	Definition
Bankruptcy	A form of debt relief available for anyone who is unable to pay their debts. Assets owned will vest in a trustee in bankruptcy, who will sell them and distribute the proceeds to creditors. Discharge from debts usually takes place 12 months after the bankruptcy order is granted. Bankruptcies result from either Debtor application – where the individual is unable to pay their debts, and applies online to make themselves bankrupt, or Creditor petition – if a creditor is owed £5,000 or more, they can apply to the court to make an individual bankrupt. These statistics relate to petitions where a court order was made as a result, although not all petitions to court result in a bankruptcy order.
Debt Relief Order (DRO)	A form of debt relief available to those who have a low income, low assets and debt no more than a specified value. There is no distribution to creditors, and discharge from debts takes place 12 months after the DRO is granted. DROs were introduced in April 2009. Following an announcement on 6 March 2024, the £90 administration fee to obtain a DRO was abolished on 6 April 2024. Furthermore, on 28 June 2024, the criteria for DRO eligibility were expanded. The debt threshold was increased from £30,000 to £50,000 and the allowable value of an exempt motor vehicle was increased from £2,000 to £4,000.
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)	A voluntary means of repaying creditors some or all of what they are owed. Once approved by 75% or more of creditors, the arrangement is binding on all. IVAs are supervised by licensed Insolvency Practitioners.
IVA: Completion	Where the supervisor has issued a certificate (“the completion certificate”) stating that the debtor has complied with their obligations under the arrangement.
IVA: Ongoing	Where the IVA has commenced and remains in progress.
IVA: Termination	Where the supervisor has issued a certificate (“Certificate of Termination”) ending the arrangement because of the debtor’s failure to keep to the terms of the arrangement. Reasons for termination include, for example, missing payments or falling into arrears, change of circumstances where reduced payments are not agreed, and the discovery of higher debts not included on the initial application.
IVA Protocol	A voluntary agreement providing an agreed standard framework for dealing with consumer IVAs. Where a protocol IVA is proposed and agreed, insolvency practitioners and creditors agree to follow the processes and agreed documentation.