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Personal Insolvency Rises By 28% To Record Level

06/11/2009

By Lea Pachta

Statistics showing insolvencies in the third quarter of 2009 have been published today by the Insolvency Service.

There were 4,716 compulsory company liquidations and creditors' voluntary liquidations in total in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2009 (on a seasonally adjusted basis). This was a decrease of 4.7% on the previous quarter but an increase of 14.6% on the same period a year ago.

The number of personal insolvencies in England and Wales in the third quarter rose by 6.6% from the last quarter to 35,242. This is an increase of 28.2% on the same period a year ago, a record high.

Graham Rusling, Managing Director for Barclays Business Support and Recoveries comments:

"A quiet September on the administration front has given way to increasing activity in October and further warning signs that 2010 will not be a quiet one for restructuring teams in UK banks, something we are prepared for.

"At Barclays we have maintained robust risk controls around lending to sectors such as commercial property compared with some of our peers, which has assisted in keeping the number of corporate failures we have witnessed lower in relative terms than during the previous recession in the early 90s, as has a much greater focus on restructuring over insolvency.

"However, unfortunately no sector is immune. The type of corporate insolvency we are set to see coming through now and into 2010 are businesses that have taken advantage of virtually all recessionary assistance on offer from Government, lenders and investors, and still have not seen their fortunes improve sufficiently to see a viable future."

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