IVAs and bankruptcies Jan - Mar 2008

9 May 2008

The latest figures from the Insolvency Service show a slight rise in the number of individual insolvencies (bankruptcies and IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements)) recorded in England and Wales during the first three months of 2008.

To get the most from figures like these, it’s always helpful to look at how they compare with the same time period last year, as well as with the three-month period that’s just passed.

The total – bankruptcies and IVAs
In January - March 2008, there were 25,264 insolvencies:

• 1.7% more than in the previous three months, but
• 13.2% fewer than in January - March last year.

IVAs
9,614 of those insolvencies were IVAs:

• 4.3% more than in the previous three months, but
• 22% fewer than in January - March last year.

For more on IVAs, see our ‘60-second guide to IVAs’.

Bankruptcies
15,651 were bankruptcies:

• 0.1% more than in the previous three months, but
• 6.8% fewer than in January - March last year.

An interesting point about bankruptcies is that they can be requested either by the individual (this is known as a ‘debtor’s petition’), or by one of their creditors (a ‘creditor’s petition’).

The Insolvency Service website points out that we’ve seen a ‘pronounced shift’ towards debtor’s petitions in recent years – a full 84% of the bankruptcies in the first three months of this year were requested by people in debt.

IVAs and bankruptcies – what’s the difference?
If you’d like to know more about the differences between IVAs and bankruptcies, see the ‘Bankruptcy or IVA?’ section in our article ‘IVAs and Bankruptcies to rise in 2008?’

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