Company Insolvencies Remain Steady in August 2024

THE NUMBER of registered company insolvencies in England and Wales was 1,953 in August 2024.

The August figure is 9% lower than July 2024’s 2,144 company insolvencies and 15% lower than in August 2023 when 2,286 companies went bust.

However, the number of company going out of business remains much higher than during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the period before, between 2014 and 2019.

Company insolvencies in August 2024 consisted of 279 compulsory liquidations, 1,542 creditors’ voluntary liquidations, 112 administrations and 20 company voluntary arrangements.

All types of company insolvency were lower than in July 2024.

Company Insolvencies Long Term Trend

The monthly figure is set against the 12-monthly rolling rate, which showed a slight increase. The 12-month rolling rate shows the longer term trend.

One in 180 companies on the Companies House register (55.5 per 10,000 companies) entered insolvency between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024.

This a small rise from the 55.4 per 10,000 companies that entered insolvency in the previous 12 months ending 31 August 2023.

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 register has more than doubled over this period.

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