Insolvencies

Insolvencies are a relatively rare phenomenon. There were fewer than 9,700 adults in London either being declared bankrupt or having a debt relief order or individual voluntary arrangement put in place in 2023. This is less than 14 per 10,000 adult population, or around one in 700, which is much lower than in any other region of England or Wales.

The rate has been consistently lower in London than elsewhere every year for which the statistics are available (since 2000). However, the rate has been increasing very slowly since 2015 though, in the last year, fell markedly. It remains lower than the peak of nearly 20 in 10,000 in London before and during the financial crisis and over 30 in 10,000 nationally, in 2009. Changes in the rates for other regions have not been consistent, though the rates were lower in 2023 than for 2019 in all regions.