The number of company insolvencies last year was at a 30 year high, due to increases in business costs, high interest rates and consumers having less disposable income.
There were 25,158 firms across England and Wales that entered an Insolvency procedure in 2023. This is a 14 per cent increase from 2022 and the highest annual number since 1993, the Insolvency Service said on Tuesday.
The number of Creditors Voluntary Liquidations increased by 9 per cent to 20,577, the highest since records began in 1960.
In terms of the rate, 53.7 per 10,000 active companies went insolvent in 2023, an increase from 49.6 in 2022. However the figure is still far lower than the peak rate of 94.8 insolvencies during the 2008 credit crunch.
These figures outline the sheer number of economic pressures that businesses have faced in the last year, including higher interest rates, skyrocketing energy and staff wage bills, while they also grappled with falling consumer confidence.
Experts have warned that the high-level of insolvencies mean the trading environment in the UK remains “pretty onerous” and businesses are facing conditions that form a “perfect storm for financial distress”.
The data also showed a 14 per cent year-on-year increase in insolvencies to 6,788 in the last three months of last year – the highest since the end of 2008. This was also 9 per cent higher than the previous quarter.
