After seasonal adjustment, 8,708 individuals entered insolvency in England & Wales in March 2024. This was 19% lower than in February 2024 and 9% lower than in March 2023.

The individual insolvencies consisted of 681 bankruptcies, 2,628 debt relief orders (DROs) and 5,399 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). The number of IVAs registered in March was similar to numbers seen over the past 12 months. DRO numbers were slightly lower than the record high monthly numbers seen in the second half of 2023, but remained high compared to historical levels. The number of bankruptcies was similar to the past nine months and slightly higher than in March 2023. However, bankruptcy numbers remained at about half of pre-2020 levels.

In the 12 months ending 31 March 2024, one in 470 adults in England & Wales entered insolvency (a rate of 21.3 per 10,000 adults). This is lower than the individual insolvency rate of 24.3 per 10,000 adults (1 in 412) who entered insolvency in the 12 months ending 31 March 2023.

There were 7,710 Breathing Space registrations in March 2024. This is 7% lower than in March 2023.

After seasonal adjustment, the number of registered company insolvencies in England and Wales in March 2024 was 1,815, 17% lower than in February 2024 (2,177) and 17% lower than the same month in the previous year (2,193 in March 2023). However, numbers of company insolvencies remained much higher than those seen both during the COVID-19 pandemic and between 2014 and 2019.

Company insolvencies in March 2024 consisted of 261 compulsory liquidations, 1,437 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 108 administrations and 9 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs). Numbers of all types of company insolvency were lower than in both March 2023 and February 2024.

One in 179 companies on the Companies House effective register (at a rate of 55.8 per 10,000 companies) entered insolvency between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. This was an increase from the 53.5 per 10,000 companies that entered insolvency in the 12 months ending 31 March 2023. These 12-month rolling rates are calculated as a proportion of the total number of companies on the effective register to show longer term trends and reduce the volatility that would be associated with estimates based on single months.

While the insolvency rate has increased since the lows seen in 2020 and 2021, it remains much lower than the peak of 113.1 per 10,000 companies seen during the 2008-09 recession. This is because the number of companies on the effective register has more than doubled over this period.