Insolvency Statistics, October to December 2015
Statistics on new corporate and individual insolvencies in England and Wales, and related statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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This statistics release contains the latest data on company insolvency (companies which are unable to pay debts and enter liquidation, or enter administration or other company rescue process) and individual insolvency (people who are unable to pay debts and enter formal procedures).
Statistics are presented separately for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland because of differences in legislation and policy.
Main messages
Companies in 2015
- Total annual company Insolvencies were at the lowest level since 1989
- This decrease was mainly driven by a decrease in compulsory liquidations, which fell to the lowest annual total since 1981
People in 2015
- Total individual insolvencies were at the lowest annual level since 2005
- This annual decrease was driven by a fall in individual voluntary arrangements, which were at the lowest level since 2008
- There was an increase in debt relief orders in Q4 2015, which resulted from a change to the eligibility criteria
Commenting on the statistics, Insolvency Service chief executive Sarah Albon said:
Today’s figures show that the number of companies entering insolvency is at its lowest for a generation.
The number of personal insolvencies continues to fall year-on-year, while at the same time access to debt relief orders has been widened to include some of the most vulnerable in society.
Updates to this page
Published 29 January 2016Last updated 13 January 2020 + show all updates
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Minor punctuation change to title for consistency
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First published.