Overview
Here you will find all the latest details on company insolvencies across the UK, including Northern Ireland. This page is updated monthly and provides details on company insolvencies by month and sector since 2019. For real-time insight and alerts about company insolvencies, please consider subscribing to the Creditsafe platform.
Key findings for December 2022:
- A total of 2535 companies became insolvent in December 2022.
- The total number of insolvencies decreased by 5% compared to the previous month (November 2022).
- The total number of insolvencies increased by 3% compared to the previous year (December 2021).
- 17% of insolvencies came from within the Construction sector.
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Insolvencies by Month
Total number of insolvencies by month.
December 2022 saw the total number of insolvencies decrease by 5% compared to November 2022. A total of 2,535 companies became insolvent, an increase of 3% compared to December 2021.
This number of insolvencies suggests that while the current economic challenges are continuing to hit businesses hard and are pushing an increasing number into insolvency, the insolvency trends are still uneven.
In recent months, companies have been affected by multiple economic issues, including the end of temporary legislation and a lack of post-covid support, which have impacted all parts of the economy and supply chain, resulting in more directors choosing to close their businesses.
The total number of UK company insolvencies for 2022 rose to 27,219. This number represents a 37% increase compared to the same period in 2021 and a 38% increase compared to 2020.
Insolvencies by Sector
The total number of insolvencies by sector YTD.
The Construction sector remains the most significant contributor to the insolvency numbers, representing 17% of all insolvencies in December 2022, with 433 Construction companies becoming insolvent. Year-to-date, Construction accounts for 18% of all company insolvencies in 2022.
Two sectors that traditionally see large numbers of business failures and are worth keeping under review are Wholesale and Retail, which saw 354 companies become insolvent in December, and Accommodation and Food Services, where 329 businesses failed. The combined total of these sectors represents 25% of all insolvencies.
With inflation and energy prices surging, a knock-on effect is expected to hit many more sectors in the coming months.
The table below shows the total number of insolvencies year-to-date (January - December 2022) by sector. It also includes the change compared to the same period in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Want to explore the data for yourself?
Whether you want to understand the impact of Insolvencies across a group of sectors or the likelihood of an individual company becoming insolvent, you can find all of this data and more within the Creditsafe platform.
Methodology
Creditsafe uses the following statuses to determine if a company has become insolvent and will count insolvency based on its first insolvency trigger from one of the statuses below:
- In Liquidation.
- Administrator Appointed.
- Appointment of Liquidator.
- Meeting of Creditors.
- In Administration.
- In Receivership.
- Administrative Receiver Appointed.
- Administration Order.
- The company is wound-up.