Corporate collapses plummet in first quarter of 2013
Administrations, liquidations and receiverships all continue to decline according to Insolvency Service statistics
CORPORATE COLLAPSES are declining at a rapid rate according to government figures published today.
Liquidations, including compulsory and voluntary, were down 5.3% in the first three months of 2013 compared to the last quarter and 15.8% on the same period last year, figures published by the Insolvency Service show.
Collectively administrations, receiverships and company voluntary arrangements also fell 27.5% to 935 compared to the same period in 2012.
Administrations were down 28.5% for the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year. The first quarter of 2013 saw 557 administrations this is compared to 580 in the last quarter of 2012 and 779 for the first quarter of 2012.
The third quarter of 2012 saw administrations hit a five year low with 548 recorded. The rate of administrations has been steadily falling since a high of 2,018 in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) were also down 18.9% in Q1 (142) compared to Q1 2012 (175).
PwC insolvency partner Mike Jervis explains that although there have been several prolific High Street collapses, overall retail insovlencies have declined 47% between Q1 2013 and the same period a year ago.
“Reading between the lines with these numbers it shows that stakeholders are supportive of companies in distress and are willing to consider non-insolvency solutions for these companies,” he said.
“What we can’t glean from these numbers is a clear message that the economy is out of the woods. [However], the dual impacts of continuing lack of growth and austerity measures will continue to produce casualties.”
