Corporate insolvencies hit a 14-year high in the second quarter of 2023, according to the latest figures published by the Insolvency Service.
There were 6,342 seasonally adjusted corporate insolvencies across England and Wales in the second quarter of 2023 - an 8.9% rise compared to 5,824 in the first three months of the year.
Corporate insolvency levels for the second quarter of 2023 were 13.1% higher compared to the same time last year (5,606) and 105.8% higher than the same quarter in 2021 (3,082).
The rise is due to an increasing number of creditors' voluntary liquidations, administrations and company voluntary arrangements. Although the number of compulsory liquidations fell compared to the last quarter, numbers are still the highest seen in the second quarter of the year since 2019.
Nicky Fisher, president of R3, the UK's insolvency and restructuring trade body, said directors are choosing to close down their firms while the decision is still theirs, while an increasing number of creditors - including HMRC - are turning to winding-up petitions to recover debts.
He said: "When the pandemic ended, many directors thought and hoped things would improve, but instead, they've faced rising costs, supply chain issues and a customer base that is tightening its purse strings to cope with the cost of living.
"Business owners remain worried about customer demand, rising costs and the state of the economy, while high interest rates may affect access to rescue funding and could deprive saveable firms of a lifeline."
He added: "Money worries are one of the hardest topics to talk about, but having that conversation while your concerns are fresh gives you more time to make a decision, more potential solutions for your issue, and usually leads to a better outcome than if you'd waited till the problem became more serious."
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