The end of 2024 saw a slight drop in company insolvencies with 1,747 registered companies, 10% lower than September 2024 and a 24% decrease compared to October 2023. However, the numbers still remained much higher than those between 2014 and 2019.
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations (CVL’s) were still the most popular form of company insolvency at 83%, a 7% decrease in September 2024. Compulsory Liquidations sat at 10% The numbers have still significantly increased from record low levels during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, with all the restrictions on recovery action available.
Administrations made up 6% with a decrease of 35% compared to September 2024 and 28% lower than in October 2023. The final 1% was made up of Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVA’s) The number of CVAs was 48% lower in October 2024 than October 2023 and 29% lower than in September 2024. In 2023, the number of CVAs was 68% higher than in 2022, which saw the lowest ever annual total in the time series going back to 1993. Despite this increase, the number in 2023 was only approximately half of 2015 to 2019 levels. Unusually, October 2024 saw two Receivership appointments which is very rare.
The three sectors most affected in October 2024 were:
- Construction (4,264 insolvencies)
- Wholesale and Retail Trade and Repair Vehicles (3,744 insolvencies)
- Accommodation and Food Services Activities (3,679 insolvencies)
Despite a dip in the insolvency figures in October 2024, levels were still higher than pre-pandemic numbers which was driven by a higher rate of CVL’s. Following the Autumn Budget and the increase in costs for businesses in the National Minimum Wage and Employers NI we do expect this to have an impact into 2025.
