There were 1,671 company insolvencies across England and Wales in January, new figures from the Insolvency Service show, an increase of 7% year-on-year.
The figures were 11% more than January 2020, just before the pandemic hit but lower than December when 1,964 firms collapsed.
There were 189 compulsory liquidations in January 2023, which is 52% more than in January 2022.
There were also 1,382 creditors’ voluntary liquidations, in which a company which can’t pay its debts decides to put itself into liquidation.
Ed Macnamara, head of restructuring at PwC’s Restructuring and Forensics practice, warned of a ‘domino effect’ as companies struggle to pay their bills: ““While the number of company insolvencies in January is down on the month before, any respite is likely to be short-lived.”
“The data, which shows a 7% rise on the year before, serves as a reminder that we are still in the midst of a difficult trading environment with rising interest rates and high inflation which, when combined, generally results in more company failures.”