Insolvencies rise further - 06/11/2009

The number of Britons declaring individual insolvency has risen again, figures from the government's Insolvency Service have shown.

Data for the third quarter showed that the tally increased from the 33,073 total seen in the three months to June to 35,242.

This total comprised 18,347 bankruptcies, 12,390 individual voluntary arrangements and 4,505 debt relief orders, with the figure being 28.2 per cent up on the same period in 2008.

People keen to avoid adding themselves to these statistics may wish to seek alternative debt management solutions while this is still possible.

Before the figures were released, experts had anticipated that such an increase would take place.

Insolvency practitioner Tenon Recovery accurately tipped the number to reach 35,000, while partner at Deloitte's Contentious Insolvency Group Louise Brittain stated that a figure over 30,000 would be seen again, the Press Association reports.

She commented: "This figure is staggering, and unfortunately the end is not in sight," predicting a record annual total for 2009 of 130,000.