Personal bankruptcies at decade high
The number of people going bankrupt in the final quarter of 2003 has rocketed to levels not seen since a over a decade ago, according to official statistics released today.
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The Department of Trade and Industry’s figures showed 10,271 people had gone bankrupt in the last three months of 2003, a leap of almost 30% compared to the same period the previous year. The figure is the highest seen since 1993.
In contrast to the plight of individuals, the number of businesses going insolvent fell. The DTI’s statistics showed 3,316 businesses became insolvent in the final quarter of 2003, 23% fewer than for the same period in 2002.
Mike Jervis, partner in the business recovery services practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: ‘We’ve seen real winners and losers. Increased consumer spending is filtering through to businesses with a significant fall in company failures. However, the increase in consumer debt has led to record levels of personal insolvencies.’