Individual insolvencies soar
IVAs prove popular for individuals in debt, new statistics show
Individual bankruptcies have leapt over the past year, according to new
government statistics.
There were 26,021 individual insolvencies in Q2 2006, a 66.3% leap on the
same period last year. Individual voluntary arrangements were mainly responsible
for the increase, climbing from 4,386 in Q2 2005 to 11,105. Bankruptcies also
climbed, to 14,915 from 11,259 over the same period.
Company insolvency proceedings fell slightly over the period, despite a
number of high-profile struggling retailers hitting the headlines in recent
months.
Liquidations dropped 5% to 3,265 for Q2 2006, compared to 3,380 a year
earlier.
Compulsory liquidations dropped 13.7%.
R3 president Tony Supperstone said that although stiff competition from
Eastern Europe and China had forced down margins, leading to company
insolvencies, the growth in the UK’s service industry had led to a stable
economy, and business would ‘bounce back’ in the next quarter.