IVA STATS FOR 2007
Friday 3 February 2008 09:30
Insolvency Service (National)
STATISTICS RELEASE: INSOLVENCIES TO END OF 2007
STATISTICS RELEASE: INSOLVENCIES IN THE FOURTH QUARTER 2007
Statistics showing insolvencies in the fourth quarter 2007 are published today (1 February) by the Insolvency Service.
COMPANY LIQUIDATIONS
There were 3,135 liquidations in England and Wales in the fourth quarter of 2007 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was an increase of 0.3% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 2.1% on the same period a year ago.
This was made up of 1,168 compulsory liquidations, a decrease of 7.2% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 17.0% on the corresponding quarter of the previous year, and 1,967 creditors voluntary liquidations, an increase of 5.4% on the previous quarter and an increase of 9.5% on the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Year-on-year there have been only modest trends and fluctuations in company liquidations over the last decade. At 12,426, total liquidations in 2007 showed a 5.4% decrease on 2006 (13,137).
In the twelve months ending Q4 2007, 0.6% of active companies went into liquidation, the same as the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2006.
INDIVIDUAL INSOLVENCIES
There were 24,846 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in the fourth quarter of 2007 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was a decrease of 3.9% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 16.4% on the same period a year ago.
This was made up of 15,659 bankruptcies, a decrease of 1.1% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 8.3% on the corresponding quarter of the previous year, and 9,188 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), a decrease of 8.3% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 27.3% on the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Annually, total individual insolvencies in 2007 (at 106,645) were 0.6% less than in 2006 (107,288). Bankruptcy orders (at 64,480) were 2.4% higher than in 2006 (62,956), while IVAs (at 42,165) were 4.9% lower than in 2006 (44,332). Prior to this, year-on-year, total individual insolvencies demonstrated an increasing trend from 1997 to 2006, with particularly steep increases towards the end of this period. On a quarterly basis, Q4 2007 saw the fourth consecutive decrease in both bankruptcies and IVAs since the levels reached in the fourth quarter of 2006.
For bankruptcy orders there has been a pronounced shift towards debtor’s petition bankruptcies and away from creditor’s petitions in recent years. By the fourth quarter of 2007, 83% were made on the petition of the debtor. On an annual basis, this figure has risen consistently from 53% in 1998 to 84% in 2007.
The percentage of bankruptcy orders involving trading debts (self-employed bankruptcies) has fallen from 61% in 1995 to 17% in 2006 (full year 2007 figures for trading-related bankruptcies are not yet available).
Number of Insolvencies in England and Wales (seasonally adjusted)¹
| Percentage change | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | Q4 | 2007 on: | |
| Q4 | Q1r | Q2r | Q3r | Q4p | Q3 2007 | Q4 2006 | |
| Company Liquidations | 3,202 | 3,100 | 3,067 | 3,125 | 3,135 | 0.3 | -2.1 |
| of which: Compulsory | 1,406 | 1,384 | 1,355 | 1,258 | 1,168 | -7.2 | -17.0 |
| Creditors Voluntary | 1,796 | 1,716 | 1,712 | 1,866 | 1,967 | 5.4 | 9.5 |
| Individual Liquidations | 29,715 | 29,215 | 26,737 | 25,847 | 24,846 | -3.9 | -16.4 |
| of which: Bankruptcies | 17,070 | 16,779 | 16,210 | 15,833 | 15,659 | -1.1 | -8.3 |
| IVAs | 12,645 | 12,437 | 10,527 | 10,014 | 9,188 | -8.3 | -27.3 |
p = provisional, r = revised.
¹Longer series back to 1998 were presented in the accompanying detailed tables.