Company insolvencies fall but personal bankruptcies rise

In the first quarter of 2000, there were 3,408 company insolvencies in England and Wales on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Department of Trade and Industry. This was a decrease of 1.6 per cent on the previous quarter, and a decrease of 7.5 per cent on the same period a year ago. 1.1

There were 7,662 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was an increase of 3.7 per cent on the previous quarter and an increase of 11.8 per cent on the same period a year ago.

The statistics are derived from administrative records of the DTI Insolvency Service and Companies House Executive Agencies.

The figures for company insolvencies are made up of compulsory liquidations (winding-up orders made by the courts) and creditors' voluntary liquidations registered at Companies House. Figures for individual insolvencies comprise bankruptcy orders and individual voluntary arrangements under the Insolvency Act 1986 and deeds of arrangement under the Deeds of Arrangement Act 1914.